Herbal medication, Xuebijing decreases ICU stay, death in severe pneumonia

China: Treatment with a traditional herbal-based Chinese medication Xuebijing led to significant improvement in pneumonia symptoms, decreased mortality, duration of Intensive care unit (ICU) stay and duration of mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia.

Small, low-quality studies have suggested clinical benefit with the herbal-based medication Xuebijing in patients with severe infections, but large, high-quality randomized trials have not yet been performed.

Song Yuanlin, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, and colleagues conducted this prospective, randomized, controlled study to investigate whether XueBiJing injection improves clinical outcomes in critically ill patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia.

For the purpose, the researchers analyzed a total of 710 patients (ages 18–75 years) across 33 centres (average age, 58; 68% male). The patients had severe community-acquired pneumonia (as defined by the American Thoracic Society). The patients were randomized to 5 days of intravenous Xuebijing or matching placebo in addition to standard care. Patients with pregnancy, obstructive lung tumors, or severe comorbidities, and those taking immunosuppressants were excluded.

The primary outcome was an 8-day improvement in the pneumonia severity index risk rating. Secondary outcomes were 28-day mortality rate, duration of mechanical ventilation and total duration of Intensive care unit (ICU) stay.