Homeopathy and conventional medicine: an outcomes study comparing effectiveness in a primary care setting.
BACKGROUND
Recent meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials in homeopathy have suggested that homeopathy is more than a placebo response.


OBJECTIVE
Comparison of the effectiveness of homeopathy in primary care with conventional medicine in primary care for three commonly encountered clinical conditions.


METHODS
An international multicenter, prospective, observational study in a real world medical setting comparing the effectiveness of homeopathy with conventional medicine.


METHODS
Thirty (30) investigators with conventional medical licenses at six clinical sites in four countries enrolled 500 consecutive patients with at least one of the following three complaints: (1) upper respiratory tract complaints including allergies; (2) lower respiratory tract complaints including allergies; or (3) ear complaints.


METHODS
The primary outcomes criterion was the response to treatment, defined as cured or major improvement after 14 days of treatment. Secondary outcomes criteria were: (1) rate of recovery; (2) occurrence of adverse events; (3) patient satisfaction; and (4) length of consultation.


RESULTS
Four hundred and fifty-six (456) patient visits were compared: 281 received homeopathy, 175 received conventional medicine. The response to treatment as measured by the primary outcomes criterion for patients receiving homeopathy was 82.6%, for conventional medicine it was 68%. Improvement in less than 1 day and in 1 to 3 days was noted in 67.3% of the group receiving homeopathy and in 56.6% of those receiving conventional medicine. The adverse events for those treated with conventional medicine was 22.3% versus 7.8% for those treated with homeopathy. Seventy-nine percent (79.0%) of patients treated with homeopathy were very satisfied and 65.1% of patients treated with conventional, medicine were very satisfied. In both treatment groups 60% of cases had consultations lasting between 5 and 15 minutes.


CONCLUSIONS
Homeopathy appeared to be at least as effective as conventional medical care in the treatment of patients with the three conditions studied.
Riley
D
D
University of New Mexico Medical School, Albuquerque, USA. dsriley@integrativemed.org
Fischer
M
M
Singh
B
B
Haidvogl
M
M
Heger
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001317:Austria; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005858:Germany; D006705:Homeopathy; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013557:Switzerland; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents