CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Homeopathy
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1782221
Original Research Article

The Patient Population at Homeopathic Outpatient Clinics across India: A Clinical Data Collection Study

1   Central Council of Research in Homoeopathy, New Delhi, India
,
Surbhi Jain
1   Central Council of Research in Homoeopathy, New Delhi, India
,
Daisy Katarmal
1   Central Council of Research in Homoeopathy, New Delhi, India
,
Jyoti Sachdeva
1   Central Council of Research in Homoeopathy, New Delhi, India
,
Hima Bindu Ponnam
2   Drug Standardization Unit (H), Hyderabad, Telangana, India
,
K. C. Muraleedharan
3   National Homoeopathy Research Institute in Mental Health, Kottayam, Kerala, India
,
Suraia Parveen
4   Dr. Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute of Homeopathy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
,
Sonia Raizada
5   Dr. D P Rastogi Central Research Institute of Homeopathy, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Liyi Karso
6   Regional Research Institute (H), Guwahati, Assam, India
,
Renu Bala
6   Regional Research Institute (H), Guwahati, Assam, India
,
Amit Srivastava
7   Regional Research Institute (H), Imphal, Manipur, India
,
Vaishali Shinde
8   Regional Research Institute (H), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Sunil Ramteke
4   Dr. Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute of Homeopathy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
,
Gurudev Choubey
9   Clinical Research Unit (H), Siliguri, West Bengal, India
,
Chittaranjan Kundu
4   Dr. Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute of Homeopathy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
,
Vinitha E. Ramanan
4   Dr. Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute of Homeopathy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
,
Tejaswini Patole
8   Regional Research Institute (H), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Ranjit Sonny
6   Regional Research Institute (H), Guwahati, Assam, India
,
Baidurjya Bhattacharjee
10   Regional Research Institute (H), Agartala, Tripura, India
,
Ravi Kumar Sardarla
11   Clinical Research Unit (H), Puducherry, India
,
Ramesh S. Bawaskar
8   Regional Research Institute (H), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
G. R. C. Reddy
12   Clinical Research Unit (H), Tirupati, Andhra, Pradesh, India
,
Kumar Keshav Avinash
13   Homoeopathic Drug Research Institute and Extension Centre, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Santosh Tamang
14   Clinical Research Unit (H), Gangtok, Sikkim, India
,
Akhyaya Kumar Prusty
15   Regional Research Institute (H), Puri, Odisha, India
,
Madhumita Sadhukhan
4   Dr. Anjali Chatterjee Regional Research Institute of Homeopathy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
,
Artemis Maglara
16   Vithoulkas Compass, CHOES Ltd, Athens, Greece
,
Anastasia Garoufali
16   Vithoulkas Compass, CHOES Ltd, Athens, Greece
,
Michael Stassinopoulos
16   Vithoulkas Compass, CHOES Ltd, Athens, Greece
,
16   Vithoulkas Compass, CHOES Ltd, Athens, Greece
17   University of the Aegean, Chios, Greece
,
16   Vithoulkas Compass, CHOES Ltd, Athens, Greece
,
Anil Khurana
1   Central Council of Research in Homoeopathy, New Delhi, India
,
Raj K. Manchanda
18   Department of AYUSH, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, New Delhi, India
› Institutsangaben
Funding The study was funded by the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India.

Abstract

Background Even though several initiatives have been undertaken in different locations worldwide to collect clinical data in homeopathy, it is important to further investigate these aspects in the context of health care in India.

Objective The study aimed to gather and analyze patients' clinical data and to derive insights into homeopathic treatment using an internet-based software program for data storage, retrieval and repertorization.

Methods A multi-center observational study was conducted across 14 homeopathy outpatient clinics in India that are affiliated with the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH). Patient symptoms and demographic details were documented anonymously, and prescriptions were guided by repertorial suggestions from the Vithoulkas Compass software. During follow-up visits, treatment outcome was also recorded using an online assessment form. A retrospective analysis of data on patients' demographics, follow-up visits, morbidity (International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision), rubrics used, prescribed medicines and the level of improvement was achieved using Microsoft Excel-generated pivot tables.

Results Throughout the study duration of one year a total of 2,811 patients attended the 14 outpatient clinics, of whom 2,468 were new patients with a total of 2,172 initial homeopathic prescription entries. Across the study, there were 3,491 prescriptions and 1,628 follow-up consultations for 868 follow-up patients, all of which data were thoroughly analyzed. The highest frequency of patients was in the 20–49 age group, and a higher proportion of the patients overall was female. Musculoskeletal, dermatological and respiratory complaints were the most frequently reported. The rubrics “Desire for sweets” and “Desire for spices” emerged as the most commonly used in the repertorizations. Further, Sulphur stood out as the most commonly prescribed medicine overall. With homeopathic treatment, some degree of clinical improvement was reported in 86% of the follow-up cases.

Conclusion Homeopathy is prescribed in CCRH outpatient clinics for a wide range of ailments in people across India, with at least some clinical improvement noted in a high proportion of those patients. The large-scale systematic data collection in these clinics has provided clear insights into the use and clinical value of homeopathy in India, with the potential to build a substantive nationwide data inventory over time.

Supplementary Material



Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 06. Oktober 2023

Angenommen: 19. Januar 2024

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
31. Mai 2024

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