Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22138796›Full record

Trial reportWiener klinische Wochenschrift2012

Real-life effect of classical homeopathy in the treatment of allergies: A multicenter prospective observational study.

Christa Gründling, Wolfgang Schimetta, Michael Frass

Abstract readClinical TrialMulticenter Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Wiener klinische Wochenschrift, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
9.4field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. New therapies for allergic rhinitis.Current allergy and asthma reports · 2014
    Review
  7. Management of allergic rhinitis.F1000prime reports · 2014
    Review
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Christa GründlingGeneral and Homeopathic Medical Practice, Enns, Austria. praxis@drgruendling.at
Wolfgang Schimetta
Michael Frass
Johannes Kepler University of Linz · ATMedical University of Vienna · ATPraxis · EE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe prevalence of allergic disorders in western industrialized countries has steadily increased during the last three decades. Public acceptance of complementary treatment methods is high. The aim of this study was to assess the real-life efficacy of classical homeopathic treatment and the potential to reduce conventional medication dosage.

methodsA prospective multicenter observational study was conducted by general practitioners specializing in homeopathy in nine Austrian test centers. Personal data and symptoms of allergic patients diagnosed with allergic conjunctivitis, allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma and neurodermatitis before and after homeopathic treatment were assessed by means of questionnaires (classification of patients' condition by using visual analogue scales/VAS).

results40 out of 44 patients originally recruited for the trial were found to meet the eligibility criteria. All clinical symptoms were shown to improve substantially, in most cases quite markedly (p < 0.001). 21 patients undergoing conventional medication therapy at baseline (62%) were able to discontinue at least one medication, while the remaining patients (38%) reported a dose reduction in at least one medication. No side effects were reported during treatment.

conclusionThe symptoms of patients undergoing homeopathic treatment were shown to improve substantially and conventional medication dosage could be substantially reduced. While the real-life effect assessed indicates that there is a potential for enhancing therapeutic measures and reducing healthcare cost, it does not allow to draw conclusions as to the efficacy of homeopathic treatment per se.

Indexed as

AdultAnti-Allergic AgentsAustriaCombined Modality TherapyDose-Response Relationship, DrugFemaleHumansHypersensitivityMaleMateria MedicaMiddle AgedTreatment OutcomeYoung AdultAnti-Allergic AgentsMateria Medica

Identifiers

PMID22138796
OpenAlexW1497138328

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.