No abstract

No abstract

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Individualized homeopathy (IH) in atopic dermatitis (AD) remained under-researched. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> We aimed at evaluating efficacy of IH in AD. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, short-term, preliminary trial was conducted in an Indian homeopathy hospital. Patients were randomized to either IH (<i>n</i> = 30) or identical-looking placebo (<i>n</i> = 30) using computerized randomization and allocation. Outcomes were patient-oriented scoring of AD (PO-SCORAD; primary end point), Dermatological Life Quality Index (DLQI) score, and AD burden score for adults (ADBSA; secondary end points), measured monthly for 3 months. An intention-to-treat sample was analyzed after adjusting baseline differences. <b><i>Results:</i></b> On PO-SCORAD, improvement was higher in IH against placebo, but nonsignificant statistically (<i>p</i>_{month 1} = 0.433, <i>p</i>_{month 2} = 0.442, <i>p</i>_{month 3} = 0.229). Secondary outcomes were also nonsignificant – both DLQI and ADBSA (<i>p</i> &#x3e; 0.05). Four adverse events (diarrhea, injury, common cold) were recorded. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> There was a small, but nonsignificant direction of effect towards homeopathy, which renders the trial inconclusive. A properly powered robust trial is indicated.

Absolute grading system of homeopathic repertories poses substantial threat to reliability; however, it may be resolved by evaluating rubrics prospectively using likelihood ratio (LR). The authors evaluated few ''physical general'' rubrics from Kent's repertory-''chilly,'' ''hot,'' ''ambithermal,'' ''preference for hot/cold food,'' ''desire/aversion for fish/egg/meat/sour/pungent/salt/ sweet/bitter''-prospectively in West Bengal, India, for 1.5 years using the Outcome Related to Impact on Daily Living scale. Per symptom/rubric, LRs < 1.5 were discarded. A total of 2039 encounters were analyzed for thermal relations and 4715 for desires/ aversions for specific food items. Comparison with Kent's repertory revealed discrepancies. One new rubric with corresponding medicines was suggested to be introduced, new entries of medicines were recommended, and some seemed to maintain their ascribed importance. The authors refrained from converting LRs into typefaces prematurely; still they propose introducing LR to repertories for a structural update, changing its use, and enabling homeopaths to make more reliable predictions.

High prevalence of undiagnosed cases of diabetes mellitus and poor knowledge, awareness, and practice has increased premature death, costly complications, and financial burden. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in November 2014 on 273 diabetics and 355 nondiabetics in 3 government homeopathic hospitals in West Bengal, India. A self-administered questionnaire assessing knowledge, awareness, and practice related to diabetes was used. A total of 17.5% to 29.3% of the participants were aware of the normal blood sugar level. Lack of insulin, frequent urination, hypertension, and poor wound healing were identified most frequently as the cause, symptom, association, and complications. A total of 35.5% to 46.5% said that diabetes was preventable; 14.1% to 31.9% knew that diabetes was controllable rather than curable. Consumption of planned diet, avoiding sugar, and testing blood sugar were the most frequently identified components of healthy lifestyle, diabetic diet, and diagnostic domain. Diabetics had higher knowledge and awareness than nondiabetics (P < .0001); still the latter need to be made aware and knowledgeable to curtail the ever-increasing burden of diabetes.