International Research in Chinese Medicine

Objective To explore the efficacy and mechanism of lung-clearing and purging therapy in treating severe pneumonia based on the theory of “lung and large intestine being internally and externally related.” Methods Twenty-two patients with severe pneumonia admitted to our hospital from April 2023 to April 2025 were included. They were randomly divided into two groups: a control group (n=11) receiving routine Western medicine treatment, and an observation group (n=11) receiving lung-clearing and purging therapy in addition to routine Western medicine treatment. The treatment outcomes of the two groups were evaluated based on clinical efficacy, TCM syndrome scores, and inflammatory factors. Results The total effective rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). The TCM syndrome scores (phlegm accumulation, shortness of breath, cough, fever) showed a decrease in all categories after treatment in the observation group compared to the control group (P<0.05). The detection of inflammatory factors [interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP)] showed that the levels of each indicator in the observation group decreased compared with the control group after treatment, and the differences between the groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion Based on the theory of "lung and large intestine being internally and externally related," the method of purging the lungs and clearing the bowels can improve the clinical efficacy of treating severe pneumonia and effectively alleviate TCM syndromes. Its mechanism may be related to reducing the inflammatory response.

Lung and large intestine being internally and externally related; Purging the lungs and clearing the bowels; Severe pneumonia