Business Daily Media

Men's Weekly

.

HKBU studies show over half of COVID-19 patients have post-disease syndrome

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 1 November 2023 - The School of Chinese Medicine at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) found that 55% of the patients who sought medical treatment from the "HKBU Chinese Medicine Telemedicine Centre Against COVID-19" during the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to experience at least one long COVID symptom for six months to a year after diagnosed with an infection.

The most common symptoms are fatigue, brain fog and cough.

Professor Bian Zhaoxiang, Director of the Clinical Division at HKBU’s School of Chinese Medicine (middle), together with his research team members Mr Cheung Chun-hoi, Associate Director of the Clinical Division (2nd left); Dr Zhang Jialing, Postdoctoral Fellow of the Centre for Chinese Herbal Medicine Drug Development (1st left); Mr Luo Jingyuan and Wong Hoi-ki, PhD students (2nd and 1st right) of SCM at HKBU, analyse patient statistics to deepen the medical community’s understanding of the symptoms during the early and middle stages of COVID-19 infection as well as the post-COVID syndrome.
Professor Bian Zhaoxiang, Director of the Clinical Division at HKBU’s School of Chinese Medicine (middle), together with his research team members Mr Cheung Chun-hoi, Associate Director of the Clinical Division (2nd left); Dr Zhang Jialing, Postdoctoral Fellow of the Centre for Chinese Herbal Medicine Drug Development (1st left); Mr Luo Jingyuan and Wong Hoi-ki, PhD students (2nd and 1st right) of SCM at HKBU, analyse patient statistics to deepen the medical community’s understanding of the symptoms during the early and middle stages of COVID-19 infection as well as the post-COVID syndrome.

The study also revealed that patients who took Chinese medicine after COVID-19 infection took a shorter time to test negative in rapid tests, and experienced significant symptom relief compared to patients who did not take Chinese medicine.

The research findings have been published in a number of papers in international academic journals including the Journal of Medical Virology and The American Journal of Chinese Medicine.

HKBU established the "HKBU Chinese Medicine Telemedicine Centre Against COVID-19" in 2021 during the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong to provide free telemedical services for COVID-19 patients. Making reference to the treatment protocols and clinical experiences in Mainland China, the expert team of HKBU's School of Chinese Medicine formulated the "Chinese Medicine Clinical Guidelines for COVID-19 in Hong Kong" as the University's clinical diagnosis and treatment standards for COVID-19. The Telemedicine Centre follows the guidelines to provide diagnosis, treatment, and prevention services to COVID-19 patients, close contacts, and caregivers.

Coughing is the most common early symptom of infection

The HKBU research team led by Professor Bian Zhaoxiang, Director of the Clinical Division at the School of Chinese Medicine, conducted a retrospective study using patient statistics collected by the Telemedicine Centre during the fifth wave of the pandemic. The team analysed the symptoms in the first four weeks of about 13,000 patients who were infected with COVID-19 from mid-March to early May in 2022 and underwent home isolation.

The results showed that 93% of patients experienced at least one symptom. The most common symptoms during the first week of infection were cough (91%), sputum (75%), dry throat (50%) and sore throat (44%). 17% of patients still had these symptoms four weeks after infection. Although the symptoms gradually subsided over time, the prevalence of fatigue increased.

Chinese medicine accelerates viral clearance

Among this batch of patients, the research team selected 311 patients who had taken Chinese medicine for five days within 10 days after diagnosis, and another 311 patients who had not taken any Chine medicine during the same period to evaluate the efficacy of Chinese medicine.

The results showed that patients who took Chinese medicine within 10 days after COVID-19 infection needed an average of seven days to test negative in rapid tests, and experienced an average of four symptoms, which were significantly milder compared to patients who didn't take Chinese medicine. The average time to test negative for patients who did not take Chinese medicine was eight days, and they experienced an average of 11 symptoms. The results show that Chinese medicine is an effective treatment for COVID-19 infection.

Over half of the patients experience long COVID after six months

The research team conducted a follow-up telephone survey from November 2022 to January 2023 with 6,242 COVID-19 patients who sought medical consultation at the Telemedicine Centre between December 2021 and May 2022 to understand their symptoms and risk factors after six months to a year of infection.

The study found that 55% of patients still experienced at least one long-term symptom, i.e. "long COVID" or "post-COVID syndrome". The most common symptoms were fatigue (36%), brain fog (34%) and cough (31%). Furthermore, females, middle-aged persons, obese people, those with comorbidities such as ophthalmology or otorhinolaryngology diseases, digestive system diseases, respiratory diseases, hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular diseases, and patients with more initial symptoms were more likely to develop long COVID. However, there was no significant correlation between taking three or more doses of vaccine and the occurrence of long COVID.

Professor Bian said: "HKBU established the Telemedicine Centre during the COVID-19 outbreak to provide free treatments for COVID-19 patients. We analysed the Centre's data to deepen the medical community's understanding of the symptoms during the early and middle stages of COVID-19 infection as well as the post-COVID syndrome. It allows the public to understand the effectiveness of Chinese medicine in treating COVID-19. The study also shows that the tele-services of Chinese medicine can be an important component of Hong Kong's healthcare and disease prevention system."

To address the issues of long COVID, Professor Bian's team has initiated a series of clinical and basic research, including a survey of COVID-19 patients with diabetes and a clinical trial conducted in collaboration with other partners to investigate the efficacy, safety and action mechanism of senlingcao oral liquid in treating long COVID fatigue. These projects aim to further explore the impact of COVID-19 and its treatment options.

Hashtag: #COVID #LongCOVID #postCOVIDsyndrome

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

News from Asia

Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Releases Strategic Roadmap for ASEAN's 5G-AI Transformation

New Research Reveals US$130 Billion Economic Opportunity and Outlines Policy Framework to Accelerate Regional Digital Leadership by 2030SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 22 July 2025 - The Le...

DFI Retail Group Holdings Limited Half-Year Results For The Six Months Ended 30 June 2025 And Announcement Of Special Dividend

Highlights 39% underlying earnings growth Increased contributions from associates, Health & Beauty and Food Health & Beauty delivered strong like-for-like (LFL...

HeyMax Acquires Hong Kong’s krip to Accelerate Regional Expansion into Loyalty and Rewards Market

HeyMax’s first acquisition fast-tracks its regional expansion, bringing over 6,000 credit card deals offered by over 3,000 merchants, and personalized loyalty experiences to consumers in Hong Kong ...

CUHK Faculty of Engineering: Advancing Innovation Through Research Excellence and Global Collaboration

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 23 July 2025 - The Faculty of Engineering at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) continues to strengthen its position in global engineering educat...

Adecco Singapore Marks 40 Years of Enabling Talent and Business Growth

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 23 July 2025 - Adecco Singapore has officially commemorated its 40th anniversary with a stakeholder event held at the National Gallery Singapore. The occasion...

Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow 2025 Youth Innovation Competition is Now On

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 23 July 2025 - Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2025, the highly-anticipated youth innovation competition, is back for its ninth edition in Singapore! As the natio...

Jollibee Group Evolves its Corporate Brand to Help Power Global Growth

Brand update brings to life its global purpose and positioning as a unified group of brandsMANILA, PHILIPPINES - Media OutReach Newswire - 23 July 2025 - The Jollibee Group, one of the world's fas...

AECOM to enhance mobility across the Greater Bay Area by delivering the Hong Kong Section of Hong Kong–Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai)

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 23 July 2025 - AECOM, the trusted global infrastructure leader, today announced that its joint venture with AtkinsRéalis has been awarded the consultancy ...

OCBC Hong Kong Unveils New Brand Campaign

Connected to “As One Group, OCBC Enables Aspiration All Across ASEAN and Greater China” Demonstrating the Unwavering Commitment in Realising Customer’s Aspirations HONG KONG SAR - Media...

X.me Foundation Empowers Global Expansion of the X.me Social Media Platform

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 23 July 2025 - X.me (https://x.me) is a social media platform where users can freely express themselves, share content, engage, and interact while earnin...

Baby boomers are driving development feasibility leading to larger apartments

As residential developers continue to grapple with feasibility issues on apartment projects, the sector is struggling to deliver volumes of new st...

Hays launches FY25/26 Salary Guide: ‘Salary Paradox’ deepens as pay rises fail Australians

Rising dissatisfaction with pay, progression and perks is fuelling a new wave of career change in FY25/26, as Australians demand more from employe...

Australian Businesses Still Stuck in the AI Hype Cycle

Data Governance Failures, ROI Gaps and Unclear Strategy Slowing Progress Despite artificial intelligence (AI) dominating headlines and boardroom ag...

How to ensure your manufacturing business survives international tariff turmoil

Optimising your operations in FY2026 will help you combat the challenges of a volatile trading environment. Up, down, in out…Since the commence...

Why Apptio is Enhancing Visibility into AI and Hybrid Cloud

AI investments have become a strategic priority for business with the mindset that if you're not using AI, you're falling behind. But according to...

Beyond borders: Building a scalable strategy for international hiring

For many Australian businesses, growth increasingly depends on thinking beyond local borders.  As wage pressures rise, and specialised talent pool...

Sell by LayBy