Table 1

Data collected from baseline to follow-up visits

	Study period
	Enrolment	Allocation	Intervention					Postintervention
	D-1	D0	D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	Discharge	30 days after discharge
Enrolment
Consent form	√
Basic information	√
Inclusion and exclusion criteria	√
Allocation		√
Intervention:
XJXBCQ+budesonide (All)+WST			√	√	√	√	√
XJXBCQ+budesonide (half) +WST			√	√	√	√	√
XJXBCQ placebo +budesonide (All)+WST			√	√	√	√	√
Outcome measure
Clinical symptoms score	√		√	√	√	√	√	√	√
TCM syndrome score	√		√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Blood gas analysis (PH, PaO₂, PaCO₂）	√							√
Serum inflammatory markers (PCT, CRP, IL-6, TNF-α）	√				√			√
Induced sputum and stool sample	√							√
Safety assessments:
Adverse events recorded	√		√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Physical examination	√		√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Blood and urine routine	√							√
Liver function (AST, ALT, Tbil, ALP, GGT）	√							√
Kidney function (Scr, BUN, eGFR）	√							√
ECG	√							√

ALP, alkaline phosphatase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; CRP, C reactive protein; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; GGT, Gamma glutamyl transferase; IL-6, interleukin-6; Paco2, alveolar carbon dioxide tension (or pressure); Pao2, arterial oxygen tension (or pressure); Scr, serum creatinine; Tbil, total bilirubin; TCM, traditional Chinese medicine; TNF-α, tumour necrosis factor-α; WST, western standard therapy.