Innovative Journal Innovative Journal of Medical and Health Science 2589-9341 11 05 2021 5 5 USE OF AYURVEDIC FORMULATION FOR INFLUENZA LIKE ILLNESS: A PILOT STUDY 1 Pravesh Agarwal Department of Medicine, Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar Government Medical College, Nahan, Himachal Pradesh, India Shuchi Mahajan Department of Community Medicine, Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar Government Medical College, Nahan, Himachal Pradesh, India Manju Sharma District Ayurvedic Hospital, Nahan, Himachal Pradesh, India Journal Article https://doi.org/10.15520/ijmhs.v11i05.3285 Abstract Background: Ayurvedic medicines (Kadhas) has become the best-selling remedies for influenza-like illness (ILI) these days, yet much is not known about the efficacy of the these drugs in reducing the symptoms of ILI. The aim of the study is to assess the efficacy of these medicines in alleviation of symptoms of ILI in the adults. We conducted a pilot study to assess whether these formulations help in alleviation of symptoms of ILI. Methods: A observational study was designed and patients having symptoms of ILI were screened and enrolled by trained authors during an encounter for acute respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough, running nose, wheeze, headache, muscle aches, sore throat and fatigue. A total of 51 subjects were recruited from the general population. The 27 were instructed to take Ayurvedic formulation provide by research coordinator along with standard treatment. Rest 24 were provided with standard treatment. The primary outcome included the time to alleviation of symptoms and the incidence of complications. Results: In this study, no significant differences were found in the time to alleviation of symptoms, incidence of complications, time until becoming afebrile, or rate of severe illness among the combination treatment group and standard treatment group. No adverse drug reactions and drug intolerance was observed to Ayurvedic formulation or to standard treatment during the follow-up periods. Conclusions: Although limited in terms of number of patients, our results suggested that, Ayurvedic formulation has yet to show a clear advantage over conventional treatments in the treatment of influenza like illness. The results support the feasibility of a large-scale randomized controlled trial to confirm these findings. Nichol, Kristin L., Heterogeneity of influenza case definitions and implications for interpreting and comparing study results, Vaccine, 2006, 24, 44-46, 6726, 6728, 0264-410X, 10.1016/j.vaccine.2006.05.064, Elsevier BV, https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2006.05.064 Li, X Y, Clinical outcomes of influenza-like illness treated with Chinese herbal medicine: an observational study, J Tradit Chin Med, 2018, 38, 1, 107, 116 Engel, J P, Viral upper respiratory infections, Semin Respir Infect, 1995, 10, 1, 3, 13 Smith, A, Thomas, M, Whitney, H, Effects of upper respiratory tract illnesses on Gwaltney, Jack M., Rhinovirus Infection of the Normal Human Airway, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 1995, 152, 4_pt_2, S36, S39, 1073-449X, 1535-4970, 10.1164/ajrccm/152.4_pt_2.s36, American Thoracic Society, https://dx.doi.org/10.1164/ajrccm/152.4_pt_2.s36 KAYE, M., SKIDMORE, S., OSMAN, H., WEINBREN, M., WARREN, R., Surveillance of respiratory virus infections in adult hospital admissions using rapid methods, Epidemiology and Infection, 2006, 134, 4, 792, 798, 0950-2688, 1469-4409, 10.1017/s0950268805005364, Cambridge University Press (CUP), https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0950268805005364 Lowenstein, S R, Parrino, T A, Management of the common cold, Adv Intern Med, 1987, 32, 207, 233 Kirkpatrick, George L., THE COMMON COLD, Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, 1996, 23, 4, 657, 675, 0095-4543, 10.1016/s0095-4543(05)70355-9, Elsevier BV, https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0095-4543(05)70355-9 Fendrick, A. Mark, Monto, Arnold S., Nightengale, Brian, Sarnes, Matthew, The Economic Burden of Non–Influenza-Related Viral Respiratory Tract Infection in the United States, Archives of Internal Medicine, 2003, 163, 4, 487, 487, 0003-9926, 10.1001/archinte.163.4.487, American Medical Association (AMA), https://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archinte.163.4.487 Mehmood, Assessment of Efficacy of Multi Herbal Extracts Product (FluAct® Syrup) against Flu Indications in Pakistani Population JPRI, 2019, 31, 6, 1, 6 Tyrrell, D. A. J., Cohen, S., Schilarb, J. E., Signs and symptoms in common colds, Epidemiology and Infection, 1993, 111, 1, 143, 156, 0950-2688, 1469-4409, 10.1017/s0950268800056764, Cambridge University Press (CUP), https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0950268800056764 Aguilera, J.F., Paget, W.J., Mosnier, A., Heijnen, M.L., Uphoff, H., van der Velden, J., Vega, T., Watson, J.M., Heterogeneous case definitions used for the surveillance of influenza in Europe, European Journal of Epidemiology, 2002, 18, 8, 751, 754, 0393-2990, 10.1023/a:1025337616327, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, https://dx.doi.org/10.1023/a:1025337616327