Individualized homeopathic medicines in upper respiratory tract infections in children: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial

Upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) include various infections affecting the different parts of upper respiratory tract (URT) extending from nose to vocal cords and mainly include acute pharyngitis, acute rhinitis, acute sinusitis, acute tonsillitis, and acute otitis media. In developing countries, on an average, every child has 6.8 to 8.8 episodes of acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) per year. In India, the number is 0.37 episodes per child-year. Morbidity accounts for  60-80% of time lost from school by children. Apart from impairing the quality of life, economic burden by the cost of treatment and the number of absentees from work by parents for their children is a major problem. Homeopathic treatment is regarded as a possible option for URTI. However, the research evidence remains compromised.  In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial of individualized homeopathic medicines in treatment of URTI at D. N. De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, 60 children suffering from ARTI will be randomized to receive either individualized homeopathic medicines or identical-looking placebo for a period of 15 days. The number of children showing complete disappearance of ARTI symptoms, Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey (WURSS-21) and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection symptom severity scale (URI-SSS) will be assessed at baseline and after 4, 8 and 15 days of intervention. Adequate fluid and fruit intake will be advised to all the enrolled children. Comparative analysis will be carried out to detect group differences. Results will be published in scientific journals.