The effects of combination of and Echinacea on alleviation of clinical symptoms and hospitalization rate of suspected COVID-19 outpatients: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES

Herbal medicines, as a treatment method, have received a great deal of attention. The effects of two herbal medicines namely and Echinacea on alleviation of clinical symptoms and hospitalization rate of suspected COVID-19 outpatients were examined.

METHODS

A clinical trial with 100 suspected COVID-19 outpatients as participants was conducted. The participants were allocated randomly to two groups of 50 members. The intervention group received concurrent (Tablet Vomigone 500 mg II tds) and Echinacea (Tablet Rucoldup I tds) for seven days in addition to the standard treatment. The control group only received the standard treatment (Hydroxychloroquine). After seven days, alleviation of clinical symptoms and hospitalization rate were examined. In addition, 14 days after treatment, the hospitalization was assessed again by telephone follow up.

RESULTS

The two groups were identical in terms of basic characteristics. Improvement level as to coughing, dyspnea, and muscle pain was higher in the intervention group (p value <0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the other symptoms. In addition, the hospitalization rate in the intervention and control groups were 2 and 6% respectively, which are not significantly different (p value >0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Taking into account the efficiency and trivial side-effects of and Echinacea, using them for alleviation and control of the clinical symptoms in COVID-19 outpatients is recommended.