A randomized comparison of homoeopathic and standard care for the treatment of glue ear in children

Author(s): Fixsen, A., Vickers, A.

Abstract: Objective: To pilot a rnodel for determining whether homoeopathic treatment of children suffering from glue ear is more effective than standard GP care at producing a return to normal hearing (a hearing loss of less than 20dB) within 12 months. Design: Non-blind, randomized controlled trial. Setting: General practice in two locations in southern England. Subjects: Thirty-three children aged 18 rnonths to 8 years with otitis media with effusion, hearing loss > 20dB and an abnormal tympanograrn. Outcome measures: Hearing loss, tympanogram, referrals to specialists and number of courses of antibiotics at 12 month follow-up. Results: A higher proportion of children receiving homoeopathic care had a hearing loss less then 20d8 at follow-up (64 vs 56%), though this difference did not reach statistical significance (95% confidence interval for the difference between means of -25 and 42%). More homoeopathy patients than controls had a normal tympanogram (75 vs 3 1 %, P - 0.0 1 5). Referrals to specialists and antibiotic consumption was lower in the homoeopathy group, though differences between groups did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion: Further research comparing homoeopathy to standard care is warranted. Assurning recovery rates of 50 and 30% in homoeopathy and standard care groups respectively, 270 patients would be needed for a definitive trial.

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