Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine for Long COVID

Summary

List of the Hypothesis:

Primary hypothesis: A flexible acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine protocol will be feasible, acceptable, and useful for the treatment of long COVID.

Secondary hypothesis: Long COVID patients receiving acupuncture treatment or acupuncture treatment and Chinese herbal supplements over an 8-week period will see improvements in their symptoms, function, and quality of life measurements.

Specific Aims of This Research (Purpose of the study):

To study the feasibility, acceptability and utility of an acupuncture and Chinese herbal supplement treatment protocol for patients with long COVID and preliminarily assess the effects of treatment.

Currently Available Research on This Subject:

Studies indicate that acupuncture can effectively treat symptoms that are similar to those often seen in long COVID patients. Additionally, recent studies and clinical evidence suggest that there is substantial potential for acupuncture in the treatment of long COVID. Acupuncture may be beneficial because it can address many symptoms simultaneously with a single intervention, whereas symptom clusters can be difficult to manage with pharmaceuticals due to the need for multiple pharmaceutical agents.

Summary of the research protocol/methodology:

Five patients will receive acupuncture treatment, and five patients will receive acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. Each participant will receive 16 acupuncture treatments over the course of eight weeks (i.e., twice per week). Each treatment session will last for 30 minutes. Follow-up will occur at 12 weeks (i.e., four weeks after the final treatment session).

Significance of this research to the health and welfare of general public:

There is currently not a single, specific treatment for long COVID. If acupuncture treatment alone and/or acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine combined are feasible, acceptable, and efficacious in the improvement of long COVID symptoms, it will offer patients additional treatment options, which may help some patients to avoid pharmaceutical treatment side effects or polypharmacy challenges.

Conditions

• Long COVID

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Acupuncture

The investigators have developed a list of core acupoints, which will be used by all clinicians for each specific TCM diagnosis pattern identified in each patient. Similarly, a list of common herbal formulas, that we will keep in stock based on the specific diagnosis patterns, has been developed. Clinicians will have the option of using additional acupoints as necessary and will be asked to record and explain any variations from the core protocol. 1. Residual Heat: LI-11, KI-6;Bai He Gu Jin Tang 2. Residual Phlegm: ST-40, Sp-9;Ban Xia Bai Zhu Tian Ma Tang,Er Chen Tang 3. Deficiency of Spleen: SP-3, ST-36;Gui Pi Tang,Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Tang 4. Lung Qi Deficiency with Dampness: LU-9, LU-7;Zhi Sou San,Er Chen Tang 5. Blood Stagnation: SP-10, SP-6;Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang,Tao Hong Si Wu Tang 6. Deficiency of Lung: LU-9, LU-7; Bu Fei Tang 7. Liver Qi Stagnation: LV-3, PC-6;Xiao Yao San, Chai Hu Shu Gan Tang 8. Yin Deficiency: KI-6, SP-6;Liu Wei Di Huang Wan 9. Deficiency of Kidney: KI-3, KI-6;

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Southern California University of Health Sciences

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-09-10

Primary Completion

2026-12-31

Completion

2026-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations