Homeopathic and conventional treatment for acute respiratory and ear complaints: a comparative study on outcome in the primary care setting.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of homeopathy compared to conventional treatment in acute respiratory and ear complaints in a primary care setting. METHODS: The study was designed as an international, multi-centre, comparative cohort study of non-randomised design. Patients, presenting themselves with at least one chief complaint: acute (< or = 7 days) runny nose, sore throat, ear pain, sinus pain or cough, were recruited at 57 primary care practices in Austria (8), Germany (8), the Netherlands (7), Russia (6), Spain (6), Ukraine (4), United Kingdom (10) and the USA (8) and given either homeopathic or conventional treatment. Therapy outcome was measured by using the response rate, defined as the proportion of patients experiencing 'complete recovery' or 'major improvement' in each treatment group. The primary outcome criterion was the response rate after 14 days of therapy. RESULTS: Data of 1,577 patients were evaluated in the full analysis set of which 857 received homeopathic (H) and 720 conventional (C) treatment. The majority of patients in both groups reported their outcome after 14 days of treatment as complete recovery or major improvement (H: 86.9%; C: 86.0%; p = 0.0003 for non-inferiority testing). In the per-protocol set (H: 576 and C: 540 patients) similar results were obtained (H: 87.7%; C: 86.9%; p = 0.0019). Further subgroup analysis of the full analysis set showed no differences of response rates after 14 days in children (H: 88.5%; C: 84.5%) and adults (H: 85.6%; C: 86.6%). The unadjusted odds ratio (OR) of the primary outcome criterion was 1.40 (0.89-2.22) in children and 0.92 (0.63-1.34) in adults. Adjustments for demographic differences at baseline did not significantly alter the OR. The response rates after 7 and 28 days also showed no significant differences between both treatment groups. However, onset of improvement within the first 7 days after treatment was significantly faster upon homeopathic treatment both in children (p = 0.0488) and adults (p = 0.0001). Adverse drug reactions occurred more frequently in adults of the conventional group than in the homeopathic group (C: 7.6%; H: 3.1%, p = 0.0032), whereas in children the occurrence of adverse drug reactions was not significantly different (H: 2.0%; C: 2.4%, p = 0.7838). CONCLUSION: In primary care, homeopathic treatment for acute respiratory and ear complaints was not inferior to conventional treatment.

Integrative management of pediatric tonsillopharyngitis: An international survey.

This survey investigated the management of pediatric tonsillopharyngitis, with a focus on natural remedies. 138 pediatricians, general practitioners and ear-nose-throat (ENT) specialists in 7 countries were surveyed by a dedicated questionnaire. A rapid strept test (RST) to diagnose acute tonsillopharyngitis was routinely used by 56/138 participants (41%). The use of RST allowed 200 diagnosis/year compared with 125 diagnosis/year for clinicians who did not use this tool. Homeopathy remedies were prescribed as a supportive therapy by 62% of participants (85/138). Among different homeopathic remedies, SilAtro-5-90 was the most frequently prescribed (53/138, 38%). In the chronic setting, homeopathy was suggested as a supportive therapy by 82/138 participants (59%), phytotherapy by 39 (28%) and vitamins/nutritional supplementation by 51 (37%). The management of tonsillopharyngitis in pediatric patients still remains empiric. Natural remedies, and homeopathy in particular, are used in the management of URTIs. An integrative approach to these infections may help reduce excessive antibiotic prescription.

Traitement homeopathique des rhino-pharyngites recidivantes de l'enfant / Homeopathic treatment of the recurrent rhinopharyngitis in child

Les rhino-pharyngites recidivantes de l'enfant (R.P.R.) resultent d'une inflammation du rhino-pharynx avec congestion et suppuration localisee au niveau des formations lymphoides, se repetant chaque annee, non seulement en hiver, mais egalement en d'autres saisons, surtout automne et printemps.(AU)

Medicamentos de rinofaringitis, amigdalitis y otitis agudas / Rhinitis, tonsillitis and acute otitis drugs

Tradicionalmente y en virtud de las reglas de la Nosologia Clasica, la rinofaringitis, amigdalitis y otitis agudas se estudian por separado, pero la clinica nos ensena que son manifestaciones ligadas entre si, pudiendo encontrar un conjunto de sintomas caracteristicos que nos van a permitir definir un terreno particular. Todas las afecciones de rinofaringe, en primer lugar, se caracterizan por inflamaciones congestivas que mas tarde pasan a supurativas, estando localizadas en el tejido linfatico situado en la rinofaringe. Por ellas mismas no son afecciones peligrosas, aunque la practica diaria nos permite ver que son recidivantes debiendo tambien tomar en cuenta el factor horas-nino perdidas en la escuela, y las repercusiones familiares que esto trae aparejado. En la primera fase, los sintomas generales dominan el cuadro; es la fase de congestion y tres medicamentos son los caracteristicos: Aconitum napellus, Belladona atropa, Ferrum phosphoricum