Integrative Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in the Management of Pediatric COVID-19: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed unique challenges to pediatric healthcare worldwide, given children's distinct physiological characteristics and variable clinical manifestations. Integrative Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine (TCM-WM) has emerged as a pivotal therapeutic paradigm in pediatric COVID-19 management, leveraging WM's precision in pathogen control and organ support with TCM's holistic syndrome-based regulation. This review systematically synthesizes the latest evidence (up to 2025) on pediatric COVID-19 from dual medical perspectives, including epidemiological features, pathological mechanisms, stage-specific integrative therapeutic strategies, and mechanistic insights. We prioritize evidence from Chinese core journals in TCM and integrative medicine, supplemented by landmark studies from prestigious international SCI journals. Special emphasis is placed on pediatric-specific syndrome differentiation, age-adapted interventions, and management of unique complications such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Finally, we discuss current limitations in standardization and evidence quality, and propose future research directions tailored to pediatric populations. This review aims to provide evidence-based guidance for clinicians practicing integrative pediatric medicine and contribute to the optimization of global pediatric COVID-19 care protocols.