Hand, foot, and mouth disease: could EPs® 7630 be a treatment option? A prospective randomized open-label multicenter clinical study.

Purpose: Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a viral contagious disease of children caused by human enteroviruses (EVs) and coxsackieviruses (CVs). There is no specific treatment option for HFMD. EPs® 7630's anti-infective and immunomodulatory properties have previously been demonstrated in several in vitro and in vivo studies; however, the use of this herbal medicine in children with HFMD has not previously been investigated.
Methods: This prospective randomized multicenter clinical study included 208 children with HFMD. The diagnosis was made by pediatricians. The patients who were within the first 48 h of symptom onset (according to the first onset of fever and skin findings) were enrolled. The study participants were assigned into 2 groups as EPs® 7630 and control groups. All patients were followed up twice more, 48 h after the first admission and on the 5th-7th day. Another phone evaluation was conducted for those with continued complaints from the previous visit.
Results: The median age was 27 (12-112) months. The male-female ratio was 0.98. One hundred thirty one (63%) of 190 patients had no history of household contact. EPs® 7630 group included 94 and control group included 96 patients. A significant difference was found between the groups in terms of complaint scores at the visits made at the 48th h of the treatment and on days 5-7 ( p  < 0.001). The mean ± SD disease duration of EPs® 7630 users was significantly shorter 6.07 ± 0.70 days (95% CI: 5.92-6.21)] than the control group [8.58 ± 0.94 days (95% CI: 8.39-8.77)] ( p  < 0.001). Besides, the hospitalization rate among the EPs® 7630 users were significantly lower ( p  = 0.019). No side effects were observed, except for unpleasant taste, which was reported in 5 patients (EPs® 7630 group).
Conclusion: Considering its efficacy and safety profile EPs® 7630 may represent a feasible herbal-based treatment option for children with HFMD.
Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier (NCT06353477).
Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
(© 2024 Sütçü, Kara, Yıldız, Kılıç, Tural Kara, Akkoc, Büyükçam, Elmas Bozdemir, Özgür Gündeşlioğlu, Gül, İseri Nepesov and Kara.)