[Outcome of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis treated with homeopathic drugs without DMARD therapy].
METHODS
The case of a 34-year-old female patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is reported, who was treated with homeopathic medicine without DMARD (disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs) therapy for 13 years. She required bilateral knee replacement surgery. Her arthritis was highly active. On X-ray analysis, her wrists, metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints displayed marked structural damage.


CONCLUSIONS
There are very few controlled clinical trials investigating the efficacy of homeopathic remedies in RA, and none of them has shown a significant benefit for the patients. This lack of efficacy is underscored by the case presented here. It is medical malpractice to treat patients with homeopathic drugs while withholding an effective DMARD therapy.
Keysser
Gernot
G
Klinik für Innere Medizin I, Universitätsklinik Halle (Saale), Halle (Saale). gernot.keyszer@medizin.uni-halle.de
D000328:Adult; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006705:Homeopathy; D006801:Humans; D011859:Radiography; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D018501:Antirheumatic Agents