CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Homeopathy
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1779693
Original Research Article

Association between Usage of Prophylactic AYUSH Medicines and Disease Severity in COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Anupriya Chaudhary
1   Department of Clinical Research, Central Council for Research in Homeopathy Headquarters, Delhi, India
,
Debadatta Nayak
2   Epidemic Cell, Central Council for Research in Homeopathy Headquarters, Delhi, India
,
Swati Pandey
1   Department of Clinical Research, Central Council for Research in Homeopathy Headquarters, Delhi, India
,
Vipul Shastri
3   Department of Pathology, Vidhyadeep Homeopathic Medical College, Surat, Gujarat, India
,
Madhuri Kamble
4   Department of Gynaecology, C.D. Pachchigar Homeopathic Medical College, Surat, Gujarat, India
,
Vidya Pendse
5   Department of F.M.T, C.D. Pachchigar Homeopathic Medical College, Surat, Gujarat, India
,
Vismay Prajapati
6   Department of Organon and Homeopathic Philosophy, C.D. Pachchigar Homeopathic Medical College, Surat, Gujarat, India
,
Brijesh Vaidya
7   Department of Physiology, C.D. Pachchigar Homeopathic Medical College, Surat, Gujarat, India
,
Heenal Rohit
8   Department of Anatomy, C.D. Pachchigar Homeopathic Medical College, Surat, Gujarat, India
,
Swaroopa Beedmani
4   Department of Gynaecology, C.D. Pachchigar Homeopathic Medical College, Surat, Gujarat, India
,
Nutan Presswala
9   Department of Community Medicine, C.D. Pachchigar Homeopathic Medical College, Surat, Gujarat, India
,
Tejaswini Patole
10   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute (Homeopathy), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Ramesh Bawaskar
10   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute (Homeopathy), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Vaishali Shinde
10   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute (Homeopathy), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Mohua Datta
1   Department of Clinical Research, Central Council for Research in Homeopathy Headquarters, Delhi, India
,
Gunjan Rai
1   Department of Clinical Research, Central Council for Research in Homeopathy Headquarters, Delhi, India
,
Umakanta Prusty
11   Department of Clinical Research, Drug Proving Unit (H), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
,
Partha Pratim Pal
12   Department of Clinical Research, Dr Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute (H), Kolkata, West Bengal, India
,
Siva Prasad Goli
13   Department of Clinical Research, Homeopathy Research Institute for Disabilities, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
,
Amulya Ratna Sahoo
14   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute (Homeopathy), Guwahati, Assam, India
,
K. C. Muraleedharan
15   Department of Clinical Research, National Homeopathy Research Institute in Mental Health, Kottayam, Kerala, India
,
Pooja Prakash
15   Department of Clinical Research, National Homeopathy Research Institute in Mental Health, Kottayam, Kerala, India
,
Ashish Mahajan
16   Department of Clinical Research, Central Research Institute Homeopathy, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
,
Anuradha Singh
16   Department of Clinical Research, Central Research Institute Homeopathy, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
,
Reetha Krishnan
17   Department of Homeopathy, Ariv Integrative Healthcare, Yashoda Hospital, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
,
Navin Pawaskar
18   Department of Practice of Medicine, JIMS Homeopathic Medical College, Telangana, India
,
Amit Srivastava
19   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute for Homeopathy, Imphal, Manipur, India
,
Gouri Devi Ningthoujam
19   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute for Homeopathy, Imphal, Manipur, India
,
Ravi Kumar Sadarla
20   Department of Clinical Research, Clinical Research Unit for Homeopathy, Puducherry, India
,
Ranjit Sonny
21   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute for Homeopathy, Siliguri, West Bengal, India
,
Liyi Karso
14   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute (Homeopathy), Guwahati, Assam, India
,
Subhamoy Sarkar
14   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute (Homeopathy), Guwahati, Assam, India
,
Sunil Prasad
22   Department of Clinical Research, Clinical Research Unit for Homeopathy, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
,
Ashish Kumar Shrivastava
22   Department of Clinical Research, Clinical Research Unit for Homeopathy, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
,
Avinash Kumar
22   Department of Clinical Research, Clinical Research Unit for Homeopathy, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
,
Nitesh Kumar
22   Department of Clinical Research, Clinical Research Unit for Homeopathy, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
,
Ch. Raveendar
23   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute for Homeopathy, Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh, India
,
BSJ Raja Kumar
23   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute for Homeopathy, Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh, India
,
VSPK Sastry
23   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute for Homeopathy, Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh, India
,
Asha Dasari
23   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute for Homeopathy, Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh, India
,
K. Samson Sundeep
23   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute for Homeopathy, Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh, India
,
Subhash Kaushik
1   Department of Clinical Research, Central Council for Research in Homeopathy Headquarters, Delhi, India
,
Padmalaya Rath
24   Department of Clinical Research, Dr DP Rastogi Central Research Institute for Homeopathy, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Shweta Gautam
24   Department of Clinical Research, Dr DP Rastogi Central Research Institute for Homeopathy, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Ratan Chandra Shil
25   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute of Homeopathy, Agartala, Tripura, India
,
Trupti Laxmi Swain
25   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute of Homeopathy, Agartala, Tripura, India
,
G. Ravi Chandra Reddy
26   Department of Clinical Research, Clinical Research Unit Homeopathy, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India
,
S. Pradeep
26   Department of Clinical Research, Clinical Research Unit Homeopathy, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India
,
S. Stevenson
26   Department of Clinical Research, Clinical Research Unit Homeopathy, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India
,
Gurudev Choubey
21   Department of Clinical Research, Regional Research Institute for Homeopathy, Siliguri, West Bengal, India
,
Lipipushpa Debata
27   Department of Clinical Research, Homeopathic Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Anil Khurana
28   National Commission for Homeopathy, New Delhi, India
› Author Affiliations
Funding None.

Abstract

Background Prior vaccination is often studied for its impact on individuals' post-infection prognosis. Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) medicines, advised by the Government of India as prophylaxis during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, were consumed by the masses in 2020. A study was therefore undertaken to observe any association between the prior usage of AYUSH prophylactic medicines and post-infection severity as reported by recovered COVID-19 individuals.

Methods This was a retrospective, multi-centre, cohort study conducted in 21 cities of India from 5th August to 30th November 2020. Data from recovered COVID-19 patients, of either sex or any age, captured information about AYUSH prophylactic medicines intake prior to infection, disease severity, symptomatology, duration of complaints, etc. The study participants were grouped into AYUSH intake and non-intake. Primary composite outcome was the disease clinical course. Secondary clinical outcomes were the rate of and time to clinical recovery.

Results Data of 5,023 persons were analysed. Ayurveda or homeopathic prophylactic medicines were consumed by more than half of the study participants: that is, 56.85% (n = 1,556) and 56.81% (n = 1,555) respectively. The overall adjusted protective effect (PE) of AYUSH prophylactic intake against moderate/severe forms of COVID-19 disease was 56.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 48.7 to 63.50; p < 0.001). Adjusted PE for homeopathy and Siddha was 52.9% (95% CI, 42.30 to 61.50; p < 0.001) and 59.8% (95% CI, 37.80 to 74.10; p < 0.001), respectively. A statistically significant association was found between AYUSH prophylactic medicine intake and clinical recovery more frequently by the 3rd day of illness (χ2 = 9.01; p = 0.002). Time to resolution of symptoms in the AYUSH intake group was on average 0.3 days earlier than in the non-intake group (p = 0.002).

Conclusion AYUSH prophylactics were associated with statistically significant levels of protection against COVID-19 disease severity. Amongst these, previous intake of homeopathy or Siddha medicines was associated with some protection against moderate/severe illness and with a somewhat quicker clinical recovery. Prospective studies with experimental research design are needed to validate the findings of this study.

Study registration Clinical Trials Registry—India (CTRI/2020/08/027000).

Author Statement

A.C. and D.N. conceptualized the study and developed the protocol and the standard operating procedure (SOP) document. S.P., V.S., M.K., V.P., V.P., B.V., H.R., S.B., N.P., T.P., R.B., V.S., M.D., G.R., U.P., P.P.P., S.P.G., A.R.S., K.C.M., P.P., A.M., A.S., R.K., N.P., A.S., G.D.N., R.K.S., R.S., L.K., S.S., S.P., A.K.S., A.K., N.K., C.R., B.S.J.R.K., V.S.P.K.S., A.D.K. S.S., S.K., P.R., S.G., R.C.S., T.L.S, G.R.C.R., S.P, S.S., G.C. and L.D. participated in finalization of the study protocol and data collection. A.K. monitored the study implementation and provided approvals and inputs for SOP development. A.C. was responsible for overall study administration and coordination with the team at the study site for data collection. A.C., D.N. and S.P. analysed the data. A.C. drafted the first version of the manuscript and made changes with relevant suggestions from all the authors. All the authors approved the version submitted for publication.


Supplementary Material



Publication History

Received: 05 July 2023

Accepted: 24 November 2023

Article published online:
07 May 2024

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