[Omeo33] Art 1066 - BMC Ear Nose Troath Disord, 2009, 9 (7), doi: 10.1186/1472-6815-9-7

[Gino Santini]

Homeopathic treatment of patients with chronic sinusitis: A  
prospective observational study with 8 years follow-up
Claudia M Witt, Rainer Lüdtke and Stefan N Willich

Background An evaluation of homeopathic treatment and the outcomes in  
- patients suffering from sinusitis for ≥12 weeks in a usual care  
situation.
Methods - Subgroup analysis including all patients with chronic  
sinusitis (ICD-9: 473.9; ≥12 weeks duration) of a large prospective  
multicentre observational study population. Consecutive patients  
presenting for homeopathic treatment were followed-up for 2 years, and  
complaint severity, health-related quality of life (QoL), and  
medication use were regularly recorded. We also present here patient- 
reported health status 8 years post initial treatment.
Results - The study included 134 adults (mean age 39.8 ± 10.4 years,  
76.1% women), treated by 62 physicians. Patients had suffered from  
chronic sinusitis for 10.7 ± 9.8 years. Almost all patients (97.0%)  
had previously been treated with conventional medicine. For sinusitis,  
effect size (effect divided by standard deviation at baseline) of  
complaint severity was 1.58 (95% CI 1.77; 1.40), 2.15 (2.38; 1.92),  
and 2.43 (2.68; 2.18) at 3, 12, and 24 months respectively. QoL  
improved accordingly, with SF-36 changes in physical component score  
0.27 (0.15; 0.39), 0.35 (0.19; 0.52), 0.44 (0.23; 0.65) and mental  
component score 0.66 (0.49; 0.84), 0.71 (0.50; 0.92), 0.65 (0.39;  
0.92), 0.74 (0.49; 1.00) at these points. The effects were still  
present after 8 years with SF-36 physical component score 0.38 (0.10;  
0.65) and mental component score 0.74 (0.49; 1.00).
Conclusion - This observational study showed relevant improvements  
that persisted for 8 years in patients seeking homeopathic treatment  
because of sinusitis. The extent to which the observed effects are due  
to the life-style regulation and placebo or context effects associated  
with the treatment needs clarification in future explanatory studies.

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