Objective: This study aimed to evaluate how well recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) works in relieving throat pain caused by a viral cold. Methods: Fifty patients aged 18–70 years with mild Omicron variant SARS-CoV-2 infection, no underlying diseases, and sore throat symptoms were enrolled. They were randomly assigned to either a control group (conventional therapy) or an EGF treatment group (conventional therapy plus EGF spray). The visual analog scale (VAS) score for pain, time to onset of pain relief, duration of analgesic effect, and recovery of the posterior pharyngeal wall mucosa were compared between the two groups before and after treatment. Results: Compared with the control group, the EGF treatment group showed a significantly shorter time to pain relief, longer duration of effect, and better mucosal recovery of the posterior pharyngeal wall, with statistically significant differences. Conclusion: Topical application of recombinant human epidermal growth factor can effectively and rapidly relieve pain caused by viral pharyngitis and promote mucosal repair, demonstrating a favorable adjuvant role in the treatment of viral cold accompanied by inflammatory pharyngeal pain.
Wu et al. (Wed,) studied this question.