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Background: There is currently no effective treatment against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The optimal selection of interventions targeting the virus is unknown. Therefore, evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to support specific treatment against COVID-19 is urgently needed. The use of Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) might have a role in the treatment and symptomatic management of patients with COVID-19. It was aimed at providing an overview of the available evidence and ongoing trials concerning the effects of CHMs for the treatment of COVID-19. Methods: This is a narrative review of relevant studies. Searches were conducted to identify documents published till April 22, 2020. Electronic databases, evidence-based collections, websites of relevant organizations, and trial registries were consulted. Results: A total of 25 guidelines on the treatment of patients with COVID-19 were identified. Four guidelines provided recommendations on the use of CHMs; these guidelines were developed in China and South Korea and were based on the consensus of experts exclusively. The remaining 21 guidelines provided no guidance on CHMs. No finished RCTs of CHMs for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 was found. According to the evidence evaluated in this review, a Cochrane review of CHMs for severe acute respiratory syndrome and five uncontrolled observational studies of the effects of CHMs in patients with COVID-19, the effects of CHMs for COVID-19 are unknown. A total of 52 ongoing clinical trials of CHM interventions for the treatment of COVID-19 were found. These trials will be carried out mostly in China (n = 51). Forty (77%) of the ongoing trials will be randomized, whereas 12 (23%) have an unclear sequence generation procedure. Forty-seven trials (90%) will have a sample size <400 participants. Conclusions: To the authors' knowledge, only the Chinese and the South Korean guidelines recommend CHMs as a treatment option for patients with COVID-19. These guidelines base their recommendations on the consensus of experts. Clinical guidelines or health authorities from other countries do not provide advice on CHMs. Due to the absence of RCT, there is currently no reliable evidence on the effects of any specific CHM intervention for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. A high number of clinical trials of different herbal products are being currently conducted in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Medicinal plants are the primary ingredients of Tibetan medicinal formulae. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the spectrum of medical complaints treated by a Tibetan doctor in Sikkim and Nepal, and to determine which plants the doctor used most frequently to treat these complaints. Design: Two prospective observational studies were carried out at two locations (Sikkim and Nepal). Patients who visited the participating Tibetan doctor were included consecutively. Medical symptoms, Tibetan syndrome diagnoses, and treatments were documented. The most frequently used plants were identified retrospectively. Results: A total of 238 patients were included (Sikkim: n = 135, 62.2% women, mean age 33.9 3.4 years; Nepal: n = 103, 54.4% men, mean age 42.9 2.4 years). The most frequent medical complaint was pain (Sikkim: 46% of patients; Nepal: 51% of patients). The most frequent Tibetan syndrome diagnosis was Bad-kan in Sikkim (20.7% of patients; a cold disorder affecting the lower body) and a combination of Bad-kan and mKhris-pa in Nepal (28.2%; a mixed cold/hot disorder affecting the lower and middle body). A total of 71 different Tibetan medicines were prescribed, including 138 different plants. Of these 138 plants, 81 typically grow at high and medium altitudes, and 57 grow in tropical and subtropical areas. Nevertheless, most (93%) of the prescribed formulae contained high-altitude plants. Conclusions: For the first time, information on medical complaints and treatments has been evaluated systematically for patients receiving treatment from a Tibetan doctor. These data provide a good foundation for further research on Tibetan medicine. Further studies should go a step farther and include follow-up data and information about the effectiveness and safety of Tibetan medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]