Efficacy and Safety of Lianhua Qingke Tablets in the Treatment of Long Coronavirus Disease (COVID) Cough: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Clinical Study

Lianhua Qingke tablets,a patented traditional Chinese medicine that has validated clinical efficacy for treating cough caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection,lack rigorous evidence-based research evaluating their effect on long coronavirus disease(COVID)cough.A randomized,double-blind,placebo-controlled,multicenter clinical study was conducted among patients with long COVID cough from 19 hospitals and 23 community health centers in China.Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either Lianhua Qingke tablets or placebo orally for 14 days(four tablets,1.84 g,three times a day).The primary endpoint indicator was the disappearance of cough,with the remission of cough also considered.Among 482 randomized patients,480(full analysis set 480;per-protocol set 470;safety set 480)were included in the primary analysis.According to the full analysis,the time until cough disappearance was significantly shorter in the trial group than in the control group,with a significant increase in the 14-day cough disappearance rate.Accordingly,the time to cough remission was significantly shorter in the trial group than in the control group.The change in the total symptom score was significantly greater in the trial group than in the control group on days 7 and 14,consistent with the results indicated by the visual analog scale(VAS)and cough evaluation test(CET)scores.No serious adverse events were recorded during the study.Lianhua Qingke tablets significantly improved the clinical symptoms of patients with long COVID cough.

Comparison of general practice residents’ attitudes and perceptions about training in two programmes in China: a mixed methods survey

Objective To understand general practice(GP)residents’attitudes about their residency training in China.Design Mixed methods survey administered cross-sectionally.Setting Two GP training programmes similar in most regards according to current GP training policy of 5 years’undergraduate degree in medicine and 3 years of postgraduate GP residency training-but differing as the Beijing programme has adopted educational innovations beyond the nationally prescribed standard curriculum used by the second Shenzhen programme.Participants 105(85%)of eligible GP trainees,35(90%)in the innovative Beijing programme and 70(83%)in the standard training Shenzhen programme.Results Overall,residents felt discrimination because of specialty choice,and that they lacked competency as a general practitioner.Many residents commented faculty had negative teaching attitudes.Beijing residents were more satisfied than Shenzhen residents with their training(p=0.001),and felt teaching faculty had sufficient knowledge(p<0.001),and appropriate attitudes towards teaching(p=0.004).Beijing residents more strongly agreed on five items about good future job prospects(all p<0.05).Conclusion These Chinese GP residents identify areas for improvement in their training as well as strengths.Higher satisfaction with faculty teaching and job optimism in Beijing where GP residents receive training from specifically qualified faculty,and can earn special certification,suggest that the educational innovations enhance training and promote positivity about job prospects.These findings imply that GP residents in China face many training challenges that are similar to other international reports,while also implicating benefits of using an innovative curricular approach.