Presentation summary

Co-Authors :
Virginie PIANO, Valentine BOUZEREAU, Bernard VERDOUX et Benoit BATAILLE

Introduction :
Most articles in traditional Chinese medicine have proposed a semiology of COVID infection according to the 4-layer theory: affection of the meridians, attack of fu, attack of the zang, and involvement of precious liquids. The objective of this prospective study was to describe the clinical examination of the tongueand the oral coating, the pulse, the clinical history and evaluate the correlation with biological analysis and pulmonary CT-scan. 

Method :
All patients entering the COVID-19 unit between November and December 2020 at the Dracéniehospital center were included. Clinical data collected includes antecedents, examination of the tongue and oralcoating with photographs and palpation of the twelve radial pulses. The paraclinical data collected concernsblood gases, C reactive protein, the level of D dimers, and lung CT scan with injection if possible. Thisdiagnosis is made by one of the two investigators. The photographs were analyzed independently by a seniorphysician in TCM, and a colorimetry analyze was done. Continuous data are expressed as mean +/- SD and ormedian [interquartile range] according their distribution.

Results :
50 patients were included (26 men). The global analysis of patients shows tai yin damage (100%),shao yin damage (50%) and jue yin damage (33%). Regarding the level of attack of perverse xié, there are 32patients with formation of tan yin, 25 patients with dryness of liquids, 22 patients with empty blood, and 33patients had an impairment of the blood layer. For the 50 patients analyzed by two investigators, κ values for assessing tongues pattern, yellow profile, purplish profile or blood stasis were 0.67, 0.14 and 0.62 respectively. No correlation was found.

Conclusion :
COVID attack affects the Tai Yin axis as a priority. The clinical appearance of the tongue changes with the severity of the signs over time but also with the improvement of clinical signs. Yin void is a factor in the aggravation of the disease.

* Patients are informed and consent to the taking of photographs of their language and their use as part of this brief and the anonymization of this data