Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2004; 9: 52–3
This study investigated the effect of individualised treatment by homoeopaths in preventing childhood upper respiratory tract infection (URTI).
One hundred and sixty-nine children below the age of 10 participated in this pragmatic RCT. The children were randomly assigned either to receive homoeopathic care or to a waiting list control using self-selected conventional health care. The participants were recruited by post from children previously diagnosed with URTI. The outcome related to the prevention of new episodes of URTI was measured with mean total symptom score over 12 weeks.
The average number of consultations was 2.9 (SD 0.6, range 1–4). The homoeopaths prescribed 22 different homoeopathic medicines. There was a significant difference in the predefined main outcome in favour of homoeopathy (24, 95% CI 11–36) compared to the control group (44, 95% CI 32–61) (P = 0.026, Mann–Whitney non-parametric test). The difference in mean number of days with URTI symptoms was statistically significant with 8 days (95% CI 4–12) in the homoeopathy group and 13 days (95% CI 9–15) in the control group (P = 0.006, Mann–Whitney non-parametric test). There was no statistical difference in the use of conventional medication or care between the two groups.
In this study there was a clinically relevant effect of individualised homoeopathic care in the prevention of URTI in children. The study gives no data on the specific effect of homoeopathic medicines or the homoeopath.
Norwegian Research Council.
