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Severe pneumonia is a life-threatening respiratory condition associated with high mortality and significant burden on patients. While conventional medicine remains the cornerstone of treatment, traditional Chinese medicine has increasingly been explored as an adjunctive approach. However, until now, robust, systematic evidence on its effectiveness and safety in this context has been lacking.
Researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, searching seven major English and Chinese academic databases for randomised controlled trials published up to November 2023. Thirty-four randomised controlled trials met the inclusion criteria and were pooled for statistical analysis using standard Cochrane methods.
The results indicated that combining traditional Chinese medicine with conventional treatment significantly improved overall clinical effectiveness compared with conventional treatment alone. Patients receiving the combined approach showed reductions in inflammatory markers — including white blood cell counts and C-reactive protein — as well as improved scores on standardised severity scales measuring lung infection and overall physiological status. Pulmonary function, measured by forced expiratory volume in one second, and blood oxygen levels also improved. Additionally, immune function, complication rates, and mortality rates were more favourable in the combined treatment group. The authors note that most included studies were limited in scale and quality, and call for larger, more rigorous randomised controlled trials to confirm these findings.
Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that adding traditional Chinese medicine to conventional treatment may offer meaningful benefits across multiple clinical outcomes in severe pneumonia, though the evidence base requires strengthening through higher-quality future research.
Source: Zhou A, Lin H, Chen Z et al. Medicine (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 42175479) · doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000048983