Objectives: To evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies for the treatment of patients with stable chronic asthma.Search strategy: The databases of the Cochrane Airways Group, the Cochrane Field of Complementary Medicine, of the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital and of the Munchener Modell were searched. The bibliographies of articles identified were checked for further trials.
Selection criteria: RCTs of homeopathic remedies for the treatment of asthma
Data collection and analysis: Information on patients, methods, interventions, outcomes, and results was extracted using standard forms.
Main results: Three trials met the inclusion criteria. All were placebo-controlled, randomised and double-blind, but they differed considerably regarding patients included, interventions used (3 different homeopathic remedies), and methodological quality, thus precluding quantitative meta-analysis. Two trials reported statistically significant positive outcomes from the tested homeopathic remedies compared with placebo and in the other trial no significant differences were observed.
Conclusions: The currently available evidence is insufficiently reliably to assess the possible role of homeopathy in the treatment of asthma.
The interventions investigated in the trials indentified are unlikely to be representative of routine homeopathic prescribing for the treatment of asthma in routine clinical practice. In general such treatment is likely to use individualized prescribing rather than remedies chosen for a disease entity such as asthma. Apart from RCTs there is a need for observational data to document the different methods and extent of homeopathic prescribing and how patients respond.