Homeopathy 2014; 103(03): 172-177
DOI: 10.1016/j.homp.2014.05.001
Original Paper
Copyright © The Faculty of Homeopathy 2014

Interim results of a randomised controlled trial of homeopathic treatment for irritable bowel syndrome

Emily J Peckham
1   Department of Health Sciences, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
,
Clare Relton
2   School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, UK
,
Jackie Raw
3   Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK
,
Clare Walters
3   Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK
,
Kate Thomas
2   School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, UK
,
Christine Smith
3   Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK
,
Kapil Kapur
3   Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK
,
Elmuhtady Said
3   Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK
› Author Affiliations

Subject Editor:
Further Information

Publication History

Received09 November 2012
revised22 April 2014

accepted04 May 2014

Publication Date:
18 December 2017 (online)

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic condition for which there is no consensus on the optimum treatment. Gastroenterology problems are some of the most common conditions treated by homeopaths, yet few trials have explored the effectiveness of individualised homeopathic treatment for IBS. A three-armed trial was conducted which compared: usual care, homeopathic treatment plus usual care and supportive listening plus usual care. The primary outcome was change in irritable bowel symptom severity score between baseline and 26 weeks, calculated using ANCOVA. An interim ANCOVA adjusted for baseline IBS severity, age and employment status found no statistically significant difference between the three arms. However, a post-hoc test comparing homeopathic treatment plus usual care to usual care alone found a statistically significant difference in favour of homeopathic treatment. In addition, 62.5 percent of patients in the homeopathic treatment arm (compared to 25.0 percent of those in the usual care arm), achieved a clinically relevant change in irritable bowel symptom severity score, which indicates a promising effect for homeopathic treatment, though these results should be interpreted with caution due to the low number of participants in the study.

 
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