Global Pediatric Health (Jun 2016)

The Effectiveness and Safety of a Homeopathic Medicinal Product in Pediatric Upper Respiratory Tract Infections With Fever

  • Robert van Haselen MSc,
  • Manuela Thinesse-Mallwitz MD,
  • Vitaliy Maidannyk MD,
  • Stephen L. Buskin MBBCh,
  • Stephan Weber MSc,
  • Thomas Keller PhD,
  • Julia Burkart MSc,
  • Petra Klement MSc

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794X16654851
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3

Abstract

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We investigated the clinical effectiveness of a homeopathic add-on therapy in a pediatric subpopulation with upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) in a randomized, controlled, multinational clinical trial. Patients received either on-demand symptomatic standard treatment (ST-group) or the same ST plus a homeopathic medication (Influcid; IFC-group) for 7 days. Outcome assessment was based on symptom and fever resolution and the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey–21 (WURSS-21). A total of 261 pediatric (<12 years) patients (130 IFC-group; 131 ST-group) were recruited in Germany and the Ukraine. The IFC-group used less symptomatic medication, symptoms resolved significantly earlier ( P = .0001), had higher proportions of fever-free children from day 3 onwards, and the WURSS-assessed global disease severity was significantly less ( P < .0001) during the entire URTI episode. One adverse event (vomiting) was possibly related to IFC. IFC as add-on treatment in pediatric URTI reduced global disease severity, shortened symptom resolution, and was safe in use.