Analysis of Syndrome Patterns in 61 Cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

【Objective】 To work out the features of syndrome patterns in cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) at admission and to supply evidence of clinical diagnostic standard in the practice of traditional Chinese medicine. 【Methods】Syndrome differentiation of weifen, qifen, yingfen and xuefen was performed in 61 confirmed cases of SARS at admission. Database of case history was established and then descriptive analysis was carried out. 【Results】 Fever was the initial symptom and medial fever and high fever occurred in 43 cases (70.47%). Cough accounted for 80. 33% and aversion to cold accounted for 57. 38%. Lassitude accounted for 67. 21%, and epigastric oppression and poor appetite 59.02%. Fifty-three cases (86.89%) suffered from pain, and among them headache accounted for 32.79%, myalgia and arthralgia 47. 54% and sore throat 27. 87%. Light-reddish tongue accounted for 29. 51%, red- dish tongue 52.64%, reddish tongue-tip 8.20% and dark-reddish tongue 8.20%. White tongue fur accounted for 22. 95%, and yellowish fur 75.41%. Floating-rapid pulse accounted for 40.98%, slippery-rapid pulse 21.31% and sluggish-rapid pulse 24.95%. As for the differentiation of syndrome patterns, 60 (98.36%) cases were in weifen stage; 38 (62.30%) were complicated with dampness syndrome. Complicated dampness involved weifen, weifen-qifen or qifen, the differences being insignificant (X~2 = 3.85, P 0.05). 【Conclusion】 Fever is the initial symptom and is characterized as medial fever and high fever in SARS patients at admission. Lung disease is marked with cough, aversion to cold and sore throat; the incidence of distention and pain in the chest and dyspnea is low. Damp-heat syndrome and pain frequently occur. Most of the cases at admission are classified as weifen or qifen syndromes and are complicated with dampness syndrome.