Effectiveness of individualized homoeopathic medicines vs. Sabadilla in the treatment of upper respiratory tract infections in children: An open-label randomized pragmatic clinical trial

Upper respiratory tract infection include various infections affecting the different parts of upper respiratory tract which mainly includes acute pharyngitis, acute rhinitis, acute sinusitis, acute tonsillitis, and acute otitis media also come under umbrella of URTI. Coldsare responsible for significant morbidity: on average there are 0.4 episodes and 1.2 days for restricted activity per person per year for the common cold. In developing countries, overcrowded dwellings, poor nutrition low birth weight and intense indoor smoke pollution underline the high rates. A recent National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) data suggests a 5.8% prevalence rate of ARI. Approximately 75% of antibiotics are prescribed for ARI, and many of these prescriptions are unnecessary. This unwarranted use of antibiotics is not only very expensive but has also contributed to rapid increase in antimicrobial resistance to bacteria causing respiratory infections. In few randomized trials, homoeopathy produced significantly different effect beyond placebo. Under such circumstances URTI in pediatric age group become a promising research area in homoeopathy.  In this open, randomized, pragmatic clinical trial at National Institute of Homoeopathy, 100 children suffering from URTI will be randomized to either treatment by empirically selected Sabadilla (verum; n=50) or individualized homoeopathic treatment (control; n=50) to examine whether there are any differences in outcomes between these two groups over 15-17 days of intervention. Translated Bengali version of the WURSS-21 questionnaire, CARIFS-18, and symptom score for RTI will be used as outcome measures. Comparative analysis will be carried out to examine group differences, if any. Results will be published in scientific journals.