Acupuncture and Chinese medicine approaches to the management of Long COVID :
A Selection of Case Reports
Stephen Clarke and Sandra Grace
Introduction
The World Health Organisation defines Long Covid as an illness that follows a history of COVID-19 infection , usually within 3 months from its onset , with symptoms that last for at least 2 months . 1 There is no specific test for Long COVID , so diagnosing it necessitates ruling out other conditions which may manifest similar symptoms . 2
Many people have symptoms that last for a few weeks after an episode of COVID-19 , such as cough or fatigue . Only a minority of those who experience the original condition of COVID-19 go on to experience Long COVID . Common symptoms of Long COVID are fatigue ; difficulty with breathing ; memory and / or concentration deficits ; disrupted sleep ; a persistent cough ; chest pain ; difficulty with speech production ; muscle pain ; anosmia and / or cacosmia ; depression or anxiety ; and fever . 3 The most common symptoms in children are negative mood states , fatigue and sleep disorders . 4 , 5 Long COVID symptoms can be mild or severe , and people may experience one or a number of symptoms .
Since Long COVID was identified as a potential outcome of COVID-19 there has been considerable work carried out on understanding and treating it . Case reports provide an opportunity for health practitioners to record the clinical outcomes of treatment approaches by providing details of presenting signs and symptoms , diagnostic test results , treatment and follow up of individual patients . In the emerging literature on strategies to manage Long COVID , many unusual or novel occurrences are being described . Presented here are summaries of nine case reports of treatment approaches using acupuncture and Chinese medicine .
Bhat AK , Kumar VK , Johnson JD . An integrative approach with Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Acupuncture in post covid parosmia - A case study . J Ayurveda Integr Med . 2022 . doi : 10.1016 / j . jaim . 2022.100560
Abstract This case is about a post viral olfactory dysfunction due to SARS-CoV-2 infection , since six months treated effectively by a unique integrative approach with Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Acupuncture ( TCA ). It started as a sudden onset of anosmia in the month of August 2020 with fever history two weeks prior . After three months Parosmia commenced which gradually worsened . A month later she experienced dysgeusia and nausea leading to tremendous stress and sleep disturbances . Ayurveda treatment included Shadbindu taila marsha nasya for seven days followed by Shadbindu taila pratimarsha nasya ( intra nasal oil instillation ) for a period of four months . Naradiya laxmivilasa rasa orally for one month . GV . 20 , LI . 20 , Ex . 1 , H . 7 , LI . 11 , GB . 8 , GB . 21 and GV . 25 Points were selected for TCA . The Indian Smell identification test score on day one of treatment was zero , day seven was four , at the end of one month was eight and after four months it was ten . Parosmia was assessed by VAS which was ten on day one and zero on day seven . We could achieve complete normalcy in olfactory function within four months of this treatment . This integrative approach was found to be safe and effective in treating Post covid parosmia .
134 | vol28 | no3 | JATMS