A prospective multicentre observational study to evaluate the role of homeopathic therapy with a group of predefined homoeopathic medicines in the management of gastroenteritis

This observational study aimed to see the usefulness of homeopathic therapy in the management of gastroenteritis. A prospective, non-comparative, multi-centre observational study was conducted by Central Council for Research in Homeopathy at its various institutes and units in India during October, 2005- September, 2008. A total of 498 patients of all age groups suffering from gastroenteritis were enrolled in the study. A total of 22 predefined trial medicines were short listed after repertorizing nosological symptoms of gastroenteritis. Selected medicine was prescribed in 6C potency and was repeated from few minutes to few hours, as per the need of the case. A gastroenteritis symptom score (GSS) was designed to assess the severity of illness and the result was analyzed using SPSS version 16. Three hundred and seventy followed up patients were analyzed. The total mean gastroenteritis symptom score (GSS) evaluated at baseline and at end were 8.56 ±4.26 and 0.45 ±0.85, respectively. The difference in the mean score was found to be statistically significant (p= 0.0001). The results were found to be significant with 18 predetermined trial medicines (p=<0.05). Eighty seven percent (n=323) of the patients needed the following nine trial medicines: Nux vomica (n=81), Pulsatilla (n=51), Arsenicum album (n=44), Cinchona officinalis (n=44), Sulphur (n=30), Antimonium crudum(n=25), Argentum nitricum(n=23), Bryonia alba (n=15) and Carbo vegetabilis (n=10). This multicentre observational study hints the usefulness of homeopathic medicines in case of gastroenteritis. Controlled studies should investigate the efficacy and effectiveness.