Introduction
COVID-19 is an emerging and rapidly evolving epidemic. The cumulative number of confirmed cases globally reached 1,040,772 on April 4, 2020, comprising 149,790 (14.39%) cured cases, and 55,698 (5.35%) deaths. The causative organism has been designated as the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). On January 30, 2020, the epidemic was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) (Fisher and Heymann, 2020). On February 11, 2020, the WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced that the disease caused by this new coronavirus was “COVID-19,” which is an acronym for “coronavirus disease 2019.” The virus seems to be highly contagious and had quickly spread to 119 countries and regions by March 12, 2020. The clinical spectrum of COVID-19 varies from asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic forms to clinical symptoms characterized by respiratory failure that necessitates mechanical ventilation and support in an intensive care unit (ICU), to multiorgan and systemic manifestations in terms of sepsis, septic shock, and multiple organ dysfunction syndromes (MODS) (Wu and McGoogan, 2020). Currently, there is no effective anti-coronaviral drug that is recommended for treatment of COVID-19, and no vaccine is available. There is no evidence supporting the efficacy of broad-spectrum antibiotics, gamma globulin, interferon, or corticosteroid therapy for COVID-19. Treatment is symptomatic, and oxygen therapy represents the major intervention for patients with severe infection. Mechanical ventilation may be necessary in cases of respiratory failure refractory to oxygen therapy (Huang et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2020).
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a long history and has played an important role in the prevention and treatment of serious epidemic diseases. During the development of the COVID-19 epidemic, more than 3,100 TCM medical staff were deployed to Hubei province, and TCM was included in the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. Currently, the total number of confirmed cases treated by TCM has reached 60,107 (Gao, 2020). The decoctions, CPMs, acupuncture, and other TCM treatments have been comprehensively used for treatment, mainly based on syndrome differentiation. Specific CPMs have been widely employed to treat COVID-19 with remarkable therapeutic effects (National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China and National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2020).
CPMs are approved by the National Drug Regulatory Authority of China and processed according to prescribed methods using Chinese herbal medicines as raw materials, guided by the theory of TCM. They are available in different dosage forms, such as pill, tablet, capsule, granule, or injection. The use of CPMs is guided by syndrome differentiation and overall analysis of signs and symptoms. Provinces of China have prepared therapeutic schedules for the treatment of COVID-19 based on actual conditions (see  Table 1 ). Many guidelines and expert consensus in China have recommended using CPMs to treat COVID-19. In this article, we identify the top 10 recommended CPMs to treat COVID-19 ( Figure 1 ). The list of CPMs includes Huoxiang Zhengqi capsule (HXZQC), Lianhua Qingwen capsule (LHQWC), Jinhua Qinggan granule (JHQGG), Shufeng Jiedu capsule (SFJDC), Tanreqing injection (TRQI), Xiyanping injection (XYPI), Xuebijing injection (XBJI), Shenfu injection (SFI), Shengmai injection (SMI), and Angong Niuhuang pill (AGNHP). Information on the drugs include the recommended guidelines, drug ingredients, indications, pharmacological research, clinical research, usage and dosage, adverse reactions, and precautions.
Table 1  Therapeutic regimens for COVID-19 in China.
Serial No.  Therapeutic regimen of COVID-19  Website  Date of issue
1  National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China. Guideline on Diagnosis and Treatment of COVID-19 (Trial 7th edition)  http://www.nhc.gov.cn/yzygj/s7653p/202003/46c9294a7dfe4cef80dc7f5912eb1989.shtml  Mar. 03, 2020
2  Beijing Municipal COVID-19 TCM Preventive and Therapeutic Regime (Trial Version IV)  http://zyj.beijing.gov.cn/sy/tzgg/202003/t20200307_1682382.html  Mar. 06, 2020
3  Tianjin Municipal COVID-19 TCM Preventive and Therapeutic Regime (Trial Version III)  http://wsjk.tj.gov.cn/art/2020/2/21/art_70_71264.html  Feb. 20, 2020
4  Hebei Provincial COVID-19 TCM Therapeutic regime (Trial Version IV)  https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/9QTqGDw6vkQyWX-VrjulqQ  Feb. 13, 2020
5  Gansu Provincial TCM Preventive and Therapeutic Regime of Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia (Trial Version II)  http://wsjk.gansu.gov.cn/file.jsp?contentId=83488  Feb. 01, 2020
6  Guangdong Provincial COVID-19 TCM Therapeutic Regime (Trial Version II)  http://szyyj.gd.gov.cn/zwgk/gsgg/content/post_2902010.html  Feb. 18, 2020
7  Shaanxi Provincial TCM Therapeutic Regime of Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia (Trial Version II)  http://sxwjw.shaanxi.gov.cn/art/2020/2/2/art_10_67602.html  Feb. 02, 2020
8  Hunan Provincial TCM Diagnosis And Treatment Scheme of Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia (Trial Version III)  http://tcm.hunan.gov.cn/tcm/xxgk/tzgg/202002/t20200203_11168981.html  Feb. 03, 2020
9  Jilin Provincial TCM Therapeutic Regime of Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia (Trial Version I)  http://jltcm.jl.gov.cn/tzgg/xgdt/202001/t20200126_6654768.html  Jan. 26, 2020
10  Technical Guidelines of Sichuan Province on TCM Prevention and Control of COVID-19  http://wsjkw.sc.gov.cn/scwsjkw/zcwj11/2020/2/6/ac6fea21a3ad490aa0a73c9d70004ad6.shtml  Feb. 05, 2020
11  Shanghai Municipal COVID-19 TCM Diagnosis And Treatment Scheme (Trial Version II)  http://wsjkw.sh.gov.cn/zyygz2/20200224/a1f1aab9745e4490867cb4aaf40eaad0.html  Feb. 24, 2020
12  Jiangxi Provincial COVID-19 TCM Preventive and Therapeutic Regime (Trial Version III)  http://www.jxhfpc.gov.cn/doc/2020/02/21/140518.shtml  Feb. 21,2020
13  COVID-19 TCM Therapeutic Regime of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Trial Version III)  http://wsjkw.gxzf.gov.cn/zwgk/zfxxgkml/wsjszh/zyzy/2020/0224/1752.html  Feb. 24, 2020
14  TCM Preventive and Therapeutic Regime for Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region  http://www.xjhfpc.gov.cn/info/2074/17765.htm  Jan. 30, 2020
15  Hainan Provincial COVID-19 TCM Preventive and Therapeutic Regime (Trial Version III)  http://wst.hainan.gov.cn/swjw/xxgk/0200/0202/202003/t20200305_2756534.html  Feb. 14, 2020
16  Heilongjiang Provincial COVID-19 TCM Preventive and Therapeutic Regime (Version III)  http://www.hljdaily.com.cn/article/90/154485.html  Feb. 26, 2020
17  Guizhou Provincial COVID-19 TCM Preventive and Therapeutic Reference Regime (Version II)  http://atcm.guizhou.gov.cn/xwzx/zyyw/202002/t20200219_50116162.html  Feb. 19, 2020
18  Shanxi Provincial of TCM Preventive and Therapeutic Regime of Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia (For Trial Implementation)  http://www.sx.chinanews.com/news/2020/0201/162758.html  Feb. 01, 2020
19  Jiangsu Provincial COVID-19 TCM Diagnosis and Intervention Regime (Trial Version III)  http://www.jstcm.com/article_info.asp?id=10042  Feb. 18, 2020
20  COVID-19 TCM Diagnosis and Treatment Scheme of the Nei Monggol Autonomous Region (Trial Version II)  http://wjw.nmg.gov.cn/doc/2020/02/18/292482.shtml  Feb. 14,2020
21  Liaoning Provincial TCM Diagnosis and Treatment Scheme of Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia (Trial Version II)  http://wsjk.ln.gov.cn/wst_zdzt/xxgzbd/tzgg/202002/t20200203_3733244.html  Feb. 03, 2020
22  Anhui Provincial COVID-19 TCM Therapist Consensus  http://wjw.ah.gov.cn/ahtcm/NewsDetail.aspx?id=987  Feb. 18, 2020
23  Shandong Provincial TCM Diagnosis and Treatment Scheme of Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia  http://wsjkw.shandong.gov.cn/ztzl/rdzt/qlzhfkgz/fkdt/202002/t20200201_2513391.html  Jan. 31, 2020
24  TCM Preventive and Therapeutic Regime for Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (For Trial Implementation)  http://wsjkw.nx.gov.cn/info/1040/13360.htm  Jan. 28, 2020
25  TCM Diagnosis and Treatment Scheme and Preventive Scheme for Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia of Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology  https://www.tjh.com.cn/html/2020/0208/28991.shtml  Feb. 08,2020
Figure 1  The top 10 CPMs for the treatment of COVID-19: 1) Huoxiang Zhengqi capsule (HXZQC), 2) Lianhua Qingwen capsule (LHQWC), 3) Jinhua Qinggan granule (JHQGG), 4) Shufeng Jiedu capsule (SFJDC), 5) Tanreqing injection (TRQI), 6) Xiyanping injection (XYPI), 7) Xuebijing injection (XBJI), 8) Shenfu injection (SFI), 9) Shengmai injection (SMI), and 10) Angong Niuhuang pill (AGNHP).