Efficacy of an herbal preparation (Atomy's HemoHIM®) against ventilator-associated pneumonia: A randomized controlled clinical trial

Abstract

Objective: Despite the standard guideline recommendations to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), it has remained one of the common lung infections in the intensive care unit (ICU). This clinical trial was designed to evaluate the effect of HemoHIM (R), a mixture of traditional Korean medicinal plants, on preventing VAP in ICU patients. Methods: This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on mechanically ventilated adult ICU patients with a clinical pulmonary infection score of VAP <= 6 in the first 48 h of ventilation. Patients in the intervention group received a packet of HemoHIM daily and orally for 7 days in addition to standard prevention strategies. However, in the control group, only standard prevention strategies were carried out. All patients were followed daily for VAP incidence for 14 days. Findings: The overall VAP incidence was 36.4 and 57.4 episodes per 1000 days of mechanical ventilation in the intervention and control groups, respectively (P = 0.041; odds ratio = 0.26; 95 confidence interval = 0.070-0.944). The median length of mechanical ventilation during study follow-up was significantly lower in the intervention than in the control group (P = 0.033). The number of pneumonia-free days during the study was considerably higher in the intervention group (P value of the log-rank test = 0.023). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the HemoHIM herbal supplement had beneficial effects in preventing the occurrence of VAP and significantly reduced the incidence of pneumonia in the intervention group. Further comprehensive research is required to draw more accurate conclusions.