Towards standard setting for patient-reported outcomes in the NHS homeopathic hospitals

Thompson, Elizabeth A.; Mathie, Robert T.; Baitson, Elizabeth S.; Barron, S; Berkovitz, Saul; Brands, Martien; Fisher, Peter; Kirby, Tom M.; Leckridge, Robert W; Mercer, Stewart W; Nielsen, Hans Jørgen; Ratsey, D.; Reilly, David; Roniger, Helmut; Whitmarsh, Tom

doi:10.1016/j.homp.2008.06.005

Cited by 37 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The study was planned based on the experience of other studies and the evidence that patients seeking a homeopathic physician frequently suffer from depression [2], [5], [12]. When planning the trial we were aware that recruitment for a placebo-controlled trial on depression could be difficult.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Homeopathy is sought by patients as complementary or alternative treatment for depressive disorders [2]–[9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although there is no rationale for a mechanism of highly diluted homeopathic medicines, a relevant proportion of patients seeking a physician providing homeopathic care in Germany (6% of women and 5% of men) [12] and UK [2] suffer from depressive symptoms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Homeopathy for Depression: A Randomized, Partially Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Four-Armed Study (DEP-HOM)

et al. 2013

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BackgroundThe specific clinical benefit of the homeopathic consultation and of homeopathic remedies in patients with depression has not yet been investigated.AimsTo investigate the 1) specific effect of individualized homeopathic Q-potencies compared to placebo and 2) the effect of an extensive homeopathic case taking (case history I) compared to a shorter, rather conventional one (case history II) in the treatment of acute major depression (moderate episode) after six weeks.MethodsA randomized, partially double-blind, placebo-controlled, four-armed trial using a 2×2 factorial design with a six-week study duration per patient was performed.ResultsA total of 44 from 228 planned patients were randomized (2∶1∶2∶1 randomization: 16 homeopathic Q-potencies/case history I, 7 placebo/case history I, 14 homeopathic Q-potencies/case history II, 7 placebo/case history II). Because of recruitment problems, the study was terminated prior to full recruitment, and was underpowered for the preplanned confirmatory hypothesis testing. Exploratory data analyses showed heterogeneous and inconclusive results with large variance in the sample. The mean difference for the Hamilton-D after 6 weeks was 2.0 (95%CI −1.2;5.2) for Q-potencies vs. placebo and −3.1 (−5.9;−0.2) for case history I vs. case history II. Overall, no consistent or clinically relevant results across all outcomes between homeopathic Q-potencies versus placebo and homeopathic versus conventional case taking were observed. The frequency of adverse events was comparable for all groups.ConclusionsAlthough our results are inconclusive, given that recruitment into this trial was very difficult and we had to terminate early, we cannot recommend undertaking a further trial addressing this question in a similar setting.Prof. Dr. Claudia Witt had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.Trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT01178255. Protocol publication: http://www.trialsjournal.com/content/12/1/43

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Homeopathy is sought by patients as complementary or alternative treatment for depressive disorders [2]–[9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Homeopathy for Depression: A Randomized, Partially Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Four-Armed Study (DEP-HOM)

et al. 2013

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“…If we compare our results for elderly patients with other homeopathic outcome studies [9][10][11][19][20][21] there is a common and clinically relevant improvement of the severity of complaints for most patients over all agegroups within the first few months of homeopathic treatment. For all 3981 patients in our cohort severity of disease decreased significantly from 6.2 (SD ± 1.7) to 3.0 (± 2.2), the initial improvement being stable during the 24 month follow-up.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Homeopathic treatment of elderly patients—A prospective observational study with a follow-up over a two-year period

Teut

Luedtke

Willich

et al. 2009

European Journal of Integrative Medicine

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“…28 In spite of the fact that patients with depressive disorders in our study were less likely to seek strictly homeopaths than GP-CM, we must remember that depression is also one of the most commonly treated complaints as previously described for outpatient clinics of homeopathic hospitals in the UK National Health Service. 29 Studies examining representative samples of general population seeking care for SADD have consistently shown that a large proportion of subjects are not treated with psychotropic drugs. 30 31 Conversely, psychotropic drugs use is frequently reported by subjects without identified psychiatric disorders.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who seeks primary care for sleep, anxiety and depressive disorders from physicians prescribing homeopathic and other complementary medicine? Results from the EPI3 population survey

Grimaldi-Bensouda

Engel²,

Massol

et al. 2012

BMJ Open

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ObjectivesTo describe and compare patients seeking treatment for sleep, anxiety and depressive disorders (SADD) from physicians in general practice (GPs) with three different practice preferences: strictly conventional medicine (GP-CM), mixed complementary and conventional medicine (GP-Mx) and certified homeopathic physicians (GP-Ho).Design and settingThe EPI3 survey was a nationwide, observational study of a representative sample of GPs and their patients, conducted in France between March 2007 and July 2008.Participants1572 patients diagnosed with SADD.Primary and secondary outcomesThe patients’ attitude towards complementary and alternative medicine; psychotropic drug utilisation.ResultsCompared to patients attending GP-CM, GP-Ho patients had healthier lifestyles while GP-Mx patients showed similar profiles. Psychotropic drugs were more likely to be prescribed by GP-CM (64%) than GP-Mx (55.4%) and GP-Ho (31.2%). The three groups of patients shared similar SADD severity.ConclusionOur results showed that patients with SADD, while differing principally in their sociodemographic profiles and conventional psychotropic prescriptions, were actually rather similar regarding the severity of SADD in terms of comorbidities and quality of life. This information may help to better plan resource allocation and management of these common health problems in primary care.

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Towards standard setting for patient-reported outcomes in the NHS homeopathic hospitals

Abstract: Thompson, E.A. et al. (2008) Toward standard setting for patientreported outcomes in the NHS homeopathic hospitals. Homeopathy, 97

Cited by 37 publications

References 17 publications

Homeopathy for Depression: A Randomized, Partially Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Four-Armed Study (DEP-HOM)

Homeopathy for Depression: A Randomized, Partially Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Four-Armed Study (DEP-HOM)

Homeopathic treatment of elderly patients—A prospective observational study with a follow-up over a two-year period

Who seeks primary care for sleep, anxiety and depressive disorders from physicians prescribing homeopathic and other complementary medicine? Results from the EPI3 population survey

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