Medical workers in traditional medicine who sacrificed their lives in the battle against COVID-19 deserve to be remembered forever

Editorial Group of

Figure 1 Medical workers in traditional medicine who sacrificed their lives in the battle against COVID-19

Figure 2 Locations and corresponding numbers of medical workers in traditional medicine who sacrificed their lives in the battle against COVID-19

China held a national day of mourning on April 4,2020 to commemorate 3,335 victims of the COVID-19 outbreak,including medical workers who sacrificed their lives in the battle against the epidemic [1].April 4 was also Tomb-sweeping Day in China, known as the Qingming Festival, it is an important occasion for the Chinese to visit cemeteries, clean tombs, and mourn their ancestors[2].

According to data from the official website of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine,as of February 17, 60,107 confirmed cases had been treated with traditional medicine, accounting for 85.2%, while nearly 4,400 medical personnel from more than 600 traditional Chinese hospitals were sent to Hubei[3].

A total of 61 medical workers died in the battle against COVID-19, 6 of whom are traditional medicine doctors(Figure 1,Figure 2).

Deep condolences were extended to them.

a.Xu Hui(April 1968-February 7,2020),a native of Yixing, Jiangsu Province,was a deputy director of the Nanjing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital,Jiangsu Province, and a deputy group leader of the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Headquarters.Fighting for 18 consecutive days on the front line,she died early in the morning on February 7 because of the failure of rescue measures.

b.Xu Defu(?-February 13,2020),former dean of the Ezhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital,Hubei Province,died of COVID-19 on February 13.

c.Feng Xiaolin (May 1954-February 27, 2020),Deputy Chief Physician, rehired by the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Huangpi District People’s Hospital.He died of COVID-19 at work.

d.Luo Xuan, a doctor at Tianmen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, died of COVID-19 at work.

e.Yuan Yangyang,36 years old,a deputy leader of the COVID-19 Medical Treatment Expert Group,Baofeng County Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, February 28th, 2020, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and died after resuscitation failed.

f.Tong Mingchang, born in November 1970,during his lifetime, he was the dean of and an attending physician at Leichi Township, Wangjiang County.On March 8, 2020, he died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage.

Deep condolences were also extended to the following village doctors:Chen Jian,Wang Tucheng,Yao Liuji, Bao Changming, Zuo Hanwen, Zhou Xinjiang, Han Qin, Li Jiaju, Zuo Lazhen, Chen Xiangtian,and Wei Anjun.

We also express our deep condolences to Liang Wudong, an otolaryngology doctor at Hubei Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital,Liu Zhiming, a master’s tutor at Hubei University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Jianghan University, and other Western medicine anti-epidemic heroes who work in traditional Chinese hospitals and universities.

Deep condolences were extended to all medical workers who died in the battle against COVID-19.

The Chinese government has encouraged the use of traditional medicine therapies throughout the course of treatment of COVID-19, unlike during the SARS outbreak of 2003 [4].Much of traditional therapy is thus likely to be used and many articles on the subject published.

Traditional Chinese medicine compounds such as glycyrrhizin, flavonoids, etc.have been shown to be effective against COVID-19[5,6].

Standard Therapy of COVID-19, published on February 9, 2020, recommends the Ma Xin Gan Shi decoction with Da Yuan Yin [7].A report dated February 6, 2020 from the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine recommended the use of Qing Fei Pai Du decoction [8].Lian Hua Qing Wen pill,Huo Xiang Zheng Qi pill[9],Xiao Chai Hu and Chai Ling decoctions have also proved effective against COVID-19[10].