The homoeopathic treatment of otitis media in children--comparisons with conventional therapy.La cura omeopatica dell' otite media nei bambini - confronto con la terapia convenzionale.Il gruppo A ha ricevuto un unico rimedio omeopatico (Aconitum napellus, Apis mellifica, Belladonna, Capsicum, Chamomilla, Kalium bichromicum, Lachesis, Lycopodium, Mercurius solubilis, Okoubaka, Pulsatilla, Silicea),
il gruppo B ha ricevuto gocce nasali, antibiotici, mucolitici e/o antipiretici.
Lo studio ha coinvolto 103 bambini nel gruppo A (trattati con l'omeopatia) e 28 bambini nel gruppo B (trattati con le terapie convenzionali) tra i 6 mesi e gli 11 anni.
Il 70,7% dei bambini del gruppo A non ha avuto nessuna ricaduta e il 29,3% ha avuto un massimo di 3 ricadute nell'arco di un anno.
Nel gruppo B il 56,6% non ha avuto nessuna ricaduta mentre il 43,5% ha avuto fino a un massimo di 6 ricadute nell'arco di un anno.Dei 103 bambini del gruppo A solo 5 hanno fatto poi ricorso agli antibiotici mentre nei restanti 98 si è arrivati a guarigione solo con la cura omeopatica. Nessuna sequela permanente si è osservata in entrambi i gruppi.
Abstract
In a prospective observational study carried out by 1 homoeopathic and 4 conventional ENT practitioners, the 2 methods of treating acute pediatric otitis media were compared. Group A received treatment with homoeopathic single remedies
(Aconitum napellus, Apis mellifica, Belladonna, Capsicum, Chamomilla, Kalium bichromicum, Lachesis, Lycopodium, Mercurius solubilis, Okoubaka, Pulsatilla, Silicea), whereas group B received nasal drops, antibiotics, secretolytics and/or antipyretics. The main outcome measures were duration of pain, duration of fever, and the number of recurrences after 1 year, whereby alpha < 0.05 was taken as significance level. The secondary measures were improvement after 3 hours, results of audiometry and tympanometry, and necessity for additional therapy. These parameters were only considered descriptively. The study involved 103 children in group A and 28 children in group B, aged between 6 months and 11 years in both groups. For duration of pain, the median was 2 days in group A and 3 days in group B. For duration of therapy, the median was 4 days in group A and 10 days in group B: this is due to the fact that antibiotics are usually administered over a period of 8-10 days, whereas homoeopathics can be discontinued at an earlier stage once healing has started. Of the children treated, 70.7% were free of recurrence within a year in group A and 29.3% were found to have a maximum of 3 recurrences. In group B, 56.5% were free of recurrence, and 43.5% had a maximum of 6 recurrences. Out of the 103 children in group A, 5 subsequently received antibiotics, though homoeopathic treatment was carried through to the healing stage in the remaining 98. No permanent sequels were observed in either group.
Fonte:
Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 1997 Jul;35(7):296-301.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9247843