OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Jinhua Qinggan granules in the treatment of patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia(COVID-19).METHODS: Eighty cases of COVID-19 diagnosed from January 24 to February 17, 2020 in Beijing YouAn Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. All 80 patients received symptomatic and supportive treatment.Among them, 44 patients took Jinhua Qinggan granules(treatment group) within 24 h of admission, and the remaining 36 patients either did not take Jinhua Qinggan granules or took the granules for less than 2 d(control group). In this study, we compared the duration of viral nucleic acid detection and of pneumonia absorption improvement between the two groups.RESULTS: Among the 80 cases, 37 were male(46%)and 43 were female(54%) with age ranging from15 to 86 years, with an average age of 51.19 years.The average duration of viral nucleic acid detection was(7 ± 4) d in the Jinhua Qinggan administration group and(10 ± 4) d for the control group(P =0.010), following which, nucleic acid tests were negative. Of the two groups, 56.82% in the Jinhua Qinggan treatment group and 27.78% in the control group demonstrated negative nucleic acid tests within 7 d or less. The 7-day viral clearance rate was significantly higher in the Jinhua Qinggan group compared with the control group(P = 0.009). Furthermore, the pneumonia recovery time indicated by chest CT was(8 ± 4) d in the Jinhua Qinggan group, which was significantly shorter than the control group, at(10 ± 5) d(P = 0.021). No adverse reactions were found in the treatment group after taking this medicine.CONCLUSION: In patients with COVID-19, Jinhua Qinggan granules can effectively shorten the duration of nucleic acid detection and promote the absorption of pneumonia inflammatory exudate without obvious adverse reactions.