Randomised controlled trials of veterinary homeopathy: Characterising the peer-reviewed research literature for systematic review

Introduction:  Systematic review of the research evidence in veterinary homeopathy has never previously been carried out. This paper presents the search methods, together with categorised lists of retrieved records, that enable us to identify the literature that is acceptable for future systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in veterinary homeopathy.

Methods:  All randomised and controlled trials of homeopathic intervention (prophylaxis and/or treatment of disease, in any species except man) were appraised according to pre-specified criteria. The following databases were systematically searched from their inception up to and including March 2011: AMED; Carstens-Stiftung Homeopathic Veterinary Clinical Research (HomVetCR) database; CINAHL; Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials; Embase; Hom-Inform; LILACS; PubMed; Science Citation Index; Scopus.

Results:  One hundred and fifty records were retrieved; 38 satisfied the acceptance criteria (substantive report of a clinical treatment or prophylaxis trial in veterinary homeopathic medicine randomised and controlled and published in a peer-reviewed journal), and were thus eligible for future planned systematic review. Approximately half of the rejected records were theses. Seven species and 27 different species-specific medical conditions were represented in the 38 papers. Similar numbers of papers reported trials of treatment and prophylaxis (n = 21 and n = 17 respectively) and were controlled against placebo or other than placebo (n = 18, n = 20 respectively). Most research focused on non-individualised homeopathy (n = 35 papers) compared with individualised homeopathy (n = 3).

Conclusion:  The results provide a complete and clarified view of the RCT literature in veterinary homeopathy. We will systematically review the 38 substantive peer-reviewed journal articles under the main headings: treatment trials; prophylaxis trials.

Keywords

Veterinary homeopathy - Literature search strategy - Randomised controlled trials - Systematic review

Supplementary data: Web Appendix

Supplementary data related to this article (Web Appendix) can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.homp.2012.05.009.

Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 29. Februar 2012

Angenommen: 10. Mai 2012

Publikationsdatum:
29. Dezember 2017 (online)

• References

• 1 Varshney J.P., Naresh R. Evaluation of a homeopathic complex in the clinical management of udder diseases of riverine buffaloes. Homeopathy 2004; 93: 17-20
• 2 Both G. Bericht über einen Praxisversuch zur Behandlung von Fruchtbarkeitsstörungen des Schweines mit homöopathischen Arzneimitteln. Report on an experiment in practice to treat fertility disturbances in swine with homeopathic preparations. Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr 1980; 87: 460-461
• 3 Elliott M. Cushing's disease: a new approach to therapy in equine and canine patients. Br Homeopath J 2001; 90: 33-36
• 4 Mathie R.T., Hansen L., Elliott M.F., Hoare J. Outcomes from homeopathic prescribing in veterinary practice: a prospective, research-targeted, pilot study. Homeopathy 2007; 96: 27-34
• 5 Mathie R.T., Baitson E.S., Hansen L., Elliott M.F., Hoare J. Homeopathic prescribing for chronic conditions in equine veterinary practice in the UK. Vet Rec 2010; 166: 234-238
• 6 Mathie R.T., Baitson E.S., Hansen L., Elliott M.F., Hoare J. Homeopathic prescribing for chronic conditions in feline and canine veterinary practice. Homeopathy 2010; 99: 243-248
• 7 Cracknell N.R., Mills D.S. A double-blind placebo-controlled study into the efficacy of a homeopathic remedy for fear of firework noises in the dog (Canis familiaris). Vet J 2008; 177: 80-88 [Reference A4 in Table 1].
• 8 de Verdier K., Öhagen P., Alenius S. No effect of a homeopathic preparation on neonatal calf diarrhoea in a randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Acta Vet Scand 2003; 44: 97-101 [Reference A5 in Table 1].
• 9 Hektoen L., Larsen S., Ødegaard S.A., Løken T. Comparison of homeopathy, placebo and antibiotic treatment of clinical mastitis in dairy cows – methodological issues and results from a randomized-clinical trial. J Vet Med A Physiol Pathol Clin Med 2004; 51: 439-446 [Reference A1 in Table 1].
• 10 Williamson A.V., Mackie W.L., Crawford W.J., Rennie B. A study using Sepia 200c given prophylactically postpartum to prevent anoestrus problems in the dairy cow. Br Homeopath J 1991; 80: 149-156 [Reference A38 in Table 1].
• 11 Williamson A.V., Mackie W.L., Crawford W.J., Rennie B. A trial of Sepia 200c. Prevention of anoestrus problems in dairy cows. Br Homeopath J 1995; 84: 14-20 [Reference A28 in Table 1].
• 12 Hektoen L. Review of the current involvement of homeopathy in veterinary practice and research. Vet Rec 2005; 157: 224-229
• 13 Clausen J., Albrecht H. Database on veterinary clinical research in homeopathy. Homeopathy 2010; 99: 189-191
• 14 Higgins J.P.T., Altman D.G., Sterne J.A.C. Chapter 8: Assessing risk of bias in included studies. In: Higgins J.P.T., Green S. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Version 5.1.0. 2011. The Cochrane Collaboration;
• 15 Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN). Search filters. http://www.sign.ac.uk/methodology/filters.html (accessed 31 March 2011)
• 16 Lefebvre C., Manheimer E., Glanville J. Chapter 6: Searching for studies. In: Higgins J.P.T., Green S. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Version 5.0.2. 2009. The Cochrane Collaboration;
• 17 13th edn. Birmingham, AL: EBSCO Publishing; The serials directory: An international reference book. Vol V. 1999
• 18 Moher D., Liberati A., Tetzlaff J., Altman D.G. PRISMA Group. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. Ann Intern Med 2009; 151: 264-269
• 19 Ernst E., Pittler M.H. Efficacy of homeopathic arnica. A systematic review of placebo-controlled clinical trials. Arch Surg 1998; 133: 1187-1190
• 20 Sense About Science. Peer review. http://www.senseaboutscience.org/pages/peer-review.html (accessed 21 February 2012)