COVID-19確診後久咳不癒之病例報告

A Case Report of Persistent Cough After COVID-19 Diagnosis:Implications for Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment of Bronchiectasis

新冠病毒感染後可能出現多種後遺症症狀，而其中如瘥後咳嗽，是疫情時代下中醫門診常見之主訴。濕熱毒疫自口鼻而入，肺為嬌臟，最易外受邪影響，肺失宣降，肺氣上逆，故出現咳嗽、胸悶、喘促等症狀，除了根據傳統中醫臟腑或八綱辨證，同時也要考量肺部本身是否有病毒感染造成的損傷或結構改變。支氣管擴張症的形成為呼吸道黏膜纖毛及免疫功能受到一些疾病影響，使呼吸道的免疫功能下降，導致氣道結構異常、痰液無法排除、肺功能下降等臨床病徵1,2。本文將透過一位確診後久咳超過半年新診斷支氣管擴張的女性患者，在中西醫的合併治療下，回顧中藥治療過程及探討肺部功能及影像檢查的重要性。

After COVID-19 infection, various post-illness symptoms may arise, and persistent cough is a common complaint in traditional Chinese medicine outpatient clinics during the pandemic. The invasion of damp-heat pathogenic factors through the oral and nasal passages primarily affects the delicate lung organ, leading to lung qi dysfunction and upward rebellion of lung qi, resulting in symptoms such as cough, chest tightness, and wheezing. Apart from traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation based on Zang-Fu organs or the Eight Principles, consideration must also be given to whether the lungs themselves have suffered viral infection-induced damage or structural changes. The formation of bronchiectasis is influenced by certain diseases that affect the respiratory tract's mucociliary clearance and immune function, leading to abnormal airway structure, impaired mucus clearance, and decreased lung function. In this article, we present a case study of a female patient diagnosed with bronchiectasis after experiencing persistent cough for over six months following a confirmed COVID-19 infection. We retrospectively review the process of combined traditional Chinese and Western medicine treatment and discuss the importance of lung function and imaging examinations.