Application of a Non-Linear multi-model Ayurveda Intervention in elderly COVID-19 patients- a retrospective case series

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging the world, leaving the mainstream medical system handicapped with no proven treatment at one end and the ambiguities regarding the efficacies of vaccines at the other. The elderly population is at greater risk in terms of complications and death. The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) against COVID-19 has already been documented in countries like China with a national participation rate of 90%. In this regard, the practice of CAM especially Ayurveda is relevant in India. The current report is a case series of 64 elderly COVID-19 patients managed through a Non-Linear multi-modal Ayurveda Intervention (NLMAI) via online consultation. NLMAI is a combination of herbal and herbo-mineral drug interventions, lifestyle modifications, and psychological support done in 2 phases. The post-management analysis revealed a mean duration of 11 symptoms of COVID-19 assessed through survival function as 0.577 days [SE=0.39] with a CI of 95% [0.500–0.653] which was considerably low when compared to global statistics. Moreover, none of the cases advanced to complications or death. Hence, novel approaches like NLMAI can be utilized to counter the gravity of the COVID-19 after scientific validation.

Keywords

• Ayurveda
• COVID-19
• Elderly patients
• Alternative medicine
• Co-morbidity
• Traditional medicine