title: A Feasibility Pilot Trial of Individualized Homeopathic Treatment of Fatigue in Children Receiving Chemotherapy.
abstract: Fatigue is a major problem in children with cancer. The objective was to examine the feasibility of performing a clinical trial of homeopathic treatment for fatigue in children receiving chemotherapy.
  
  
  
  This was a single-institution, open-label, pilot study. Children 2 to 18 years old, diagnosed with cancer, and receiving chemotherapy were eligible. Participants were given individualized homeopathic treatment for a maximum of 14 days. In-home or clinic assessments were conducted up to 3 times weekly. Feasibility was defined as the ability to recruit and administer homeopathy to 10 participants within 1 year. Fatigue was measured using the Symptom Distress Scale daily and the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Module weekly.
  
  
  
  Between April 2012 and April 2014, 155 potential participants were identified. There were 45 eligible and contacted patients; 36 declined participation, 30 because they were not interested; 9 agreed to participate, but 1 participant withdrew prior to treatment initiation. Median length of homeopathic treatment was 10.5 (range = 6 to 14) days. All parents found homeopathic treatment to be easy or very easy to follow.
  
  
  
  Trials of individualized homeopathy for fatigue reduction in pediatric cancer are not feasible in this context; lack of interest was a primary reason. Alternative approaches to evaluating homeopathy efficacy are needed.
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Riverdale Homeopathic Clinic, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brulé
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Biljana
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gillmeister
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gassas
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Eleanor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hendershot
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zupanec
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dupuis
authors.affiliation: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada lillian.sung@sickkids.ca.
authors.forename: Lillian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sung
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006705:Homeopathy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D057285:Precision Medicine / Q000379:methods; D011788:Quality of Life
keywords: cancer; children; fatigue; feasibility; homeopathy; pilot