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1: J Altern Complement Med. 2005 Oct;11(5):793-8.Click here to read Links
Comment in:
J Altern Complement Med. 2006 Mar;12(2):103; author reply 103.

Homeopathic treatment for chronic disease: a 6-year, university-hospital outpatient observational study.

Spence DS, Thompson EA, Barron SJ.

United Bristol Healthcare, National Health Service Trust, Bristol, United Kingdom. David.Spence@ubht.nhs.uk

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess health changes seen in routine homeopathic care for patients with a wide range of chronic conditions who were referred to a hospital outpatient department. DESIGN: This was an observational study of 6544 consecutive follow-up patients during a 6-year period. SETTING: Hospital outpatient unit within an acute National Health Service (NHS) Teaching Trust in the United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS: Every patient attending the hospital outpatient unit for a follow-up appointment over the study period was included, commencing with their first follow-up attendance. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Outcomes were based on scores on a 7-point Likert-type scale at the end of the consultation and were assessed as overall outcomes compared to the initial baseline assessments. RESULTS: A total of 6544 consecutive follow-up patients were given outcome scores. Of the patients 70.7% (n = 4627) reported positive health changes, with 50.7% (n = 3318) recording their improvement as better (+2) or much better (+3). CONCLUSIONS: Homeopathic intervention offered positive health changes to a substantial proportion of a large cohort of patients with a wide range of chronic diseases. Additional observational research, including studies using different designs, is necessary for further research development in homeopathy.

PMID: 16296912 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]