MONARCH Inventory for Causal Attribution in Homeopathy Case Reports: Explanation and Elaboration.

Background:  The Modified Naranjo Criteria for Homeopathy (MONARCH) inventory is a novel and useful tool for assessing the likelihood of a causal relationship between the homeopathic intervention and the ultimate clinical outcome.

Objectives:  To explain and elaborate on the use of the MONARCH inventory to improve its consistency of use and thereby elevate the overall quality and evidentiary value of homeopathy case reports.

Explanation And Elaboration:  Each of the 10 MONARCH inventory domains is explained and elaborated with the aid of references from published literature and hypothetical clinical situations.

Homeopathic Medicines in Third (Omicron) Wave of COVID-19: Prognostic Factor Research.

Background: With the emergence of new variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, such as the Omicron variant, during the third wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there was a need to identify useful homeopathic medicines. This study aimed to identify such medicines and their indications using prognostic factor research (PFR).

Methods: This was an open-label, multi-centred observational study conducted in January 2022, on confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Test of a Homeopathic Algorithm for COVID-19: the Importance of a Broad Perspective.

Background:  Most of the symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are covered by large repertory rubrics and hence many remedies have been proposed as "genus epidemicus". The aim of this study was to combine the information from various data collections to prepare a COVID-19 Bayesian mini-repertory/an algorithm-based application (app) and test it.

Methods:  In July 2021, 1,161 COVID-19 cases from 100 practitioners globally were combined.

Homeopathic Medicines in Second Wave of COVID-19: Prognostic Factor Research.

Background: The clinical profile and course of COVID-19 evolved perilously in a second wave, leading to the use of various treatment modalities that included homeopathy. This prognostic factor research (PFR) study aimed to identify clinically useful homeopathic medicines in this second wave.

Methods: This was a retrospective, multi-centred observational study performed from March 2021 to May 2021 on confirmed COVID-19 cases who were either in home isolation or at COVID Care Centres in Delhi, India.

Generalizability of Homeopathic Prognostic Factor Research Outcome in COVID-19 Treatment: Comparison of Data.

Background/objective: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, several homeopathic prognostic factor research (PFR) projects have been undertaken. We found two projects with comparable outcomes to assess consistency and possible flaws.

Methods: Two comparisons were made.

Case Reporting in Homeopathy-An Overview of Guidelines and Scientific Tools.

Case reports have been of central importance to the development of homeopathy over the past 200 years. With a special focus on homeopathy, we give an overview on guidelines and tools that may help to improve the quality of case reports. Reporting guidelines such as CARE (se port), HOM-CASE (eopathic Clinical Reports), and the WissHom Documentation Standard help to improve the quality of reporting and strengthen the scientific value of a case report.

Impact of Bias in Data Collection of COVID-19 Cases.

Background: Prognostic factor research (PFR), prevalence of symptoms and likelihood ratio (LR) play an important role in identifying prescribing indications of useful homeopathic remedies. It involves meticulous unbiased collection and analysis of data collected during clinical practice. This paper is an attempt to identify causes of bias and suggests ways to mitigate them for improving the accuracy in prescribing for better clinical outcomes and execution of randomized controlled studies.

Psychometric validation of the modified Naranjo algorithm used in homeopathy for chronic cases.

Objectives: The modified Naranjo algorithm assesses the physician assigned cause-effect relationship for homeopathic medicines. It is being adopted in homeopathy researches, but not yet validated systematically. We intended to validate the modified Naranjo algorithm by examining its psychometric properties.

Individualized Homeopathic Medicines in the Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Pilot Trial.

Introduction: Evidence favoring homeopathy in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) remains scarce. The objective of this pilot trial was to test feasibility of a definitive trial in future. We also experimented whether individualized homeopathic medicines (IH) plus psychological counseling (PC) can produce significantly different effects beyond placebo plus PC in the treatment of GAD.

Prevalence and Likelihood Ratio of Six Objective Signs among Good Responders to Natrum muriaticum: Multi-centre Observational Assessment.

Background:  The reliability of homeopathic prescriptions may increase through resource to objective signs and guiding symptoms with significant positive likelihood ratio (LR). We estimated LR for six objective signs attributed to the homeopathic medicine ().

Methods:  In this multi-centre observational assessment, we investigated the prevalence of six signs in the general patient population and among good responders to in daily homeopathic practice.

Data Collection during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Learning from Experience, Resulting in a Bayesian Repertory.

Background: A novel pandemic disease offered the opportunity to create new, disease-specific, symptom rubrics for the homeopathic repertory.

Objective: The aim of this study was to discover the relationship between specific symptoms and specific medicines, especially of symptoms occurring frequently in this disease.

Materials And Methods: Worldwide collection of data in all possible formats by various parties was coordinated by the Liga Medicorum Homeopathica Internationalis.

Counting Polar Symptoms: How to Represent Results?

Background:  Polar symptoms (PS)-symptoms with opposite values-are frequently used in homeopathy, but have many misleading entries in the repertory. This is caused by using absolute occurrence of symptoms, causing the same medicine to appear in both (opposite) symptom rubrics, and by lack of comparison with other medicines. Some PS, like 'aversion/desire for sweets' have a frequency distribution that is not evenly distributed around the neutral value: a desire for sweets is much more common than aversion.

Evaluation of the Modified Naranjo Criteria for Assessing Causal Attribution of Clinical Outcome to Homeopathic Intervention as Presented in Case Reports.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to establish the reliability and content validity of the "Modified Naranjo Criteria for Homeopathy-Causal Attribution Inventory" as a tool for attributing a causal relationship between the homeopathic intervention and outcome in clinical case reports.

Methods: Purposive sampling was adopted for the selection of information-rich case reports using pre-defined criteria. Eligible case reports had to fulfil a minimum of nine items of the CARE Clinical Case Reporting Guideline checklist and a minimum of three of the homeopathic HOM-CASE CARE extension items.

Assessment of Likelihood Ratio for Four Contact Dermatitis Symptoms of Vinca Minor.

Background: Contact dermatitis (CD) is a frequently occurring medical condition, for which (VM) is one of the recommended homeopathic medicines. However, the symptoms indicating this medicine have not yet been assessed systematically. Likelihood ratio (LR), based on Bayesian statistics, may yield better estimation of a medicine's indication than the existing method of entry of symptoms into materia medica and repertories.

Flawed statistics and science confirming existing paradigms.

Background: Part of the scientific community states that implausible methods cannot have a true effect and that epidemiological proof can only lead to false positives.

Discussion: Homeopathy is regarded as an example of an implausible method with false positive evidence. However, epidemiological proof is necessary to falsify the placebo hypothesis.

Generalisability of prognostic factor research: further analysis of data from the IIPCOS2 study.

Prognostic factor research is important as it helps in refining diagnosis, taking clinical and therapeutic decisions, enhances the design and analysis of intervention trials and helps to identify targets for new interventions that aim to modify the course of a disease. Prognostic factor research in homeopathy can be done by applying Bayes' theorem. This paper considers Bayes' theorem; Likelihood Ratio, conditional probability and research in subpopulations of a condition with examples.

Data collection: Treat every variable as a treasure.

Unlabelled: Collection of data concerning case histories is not yet common in homeopathy despite its great importance for this method. Computer program development progresses slowly and discussion about requirements is scarce. Two Dutch projects assessed Materia Medica of some homeopathic medicines and six homeopathic symptoms.

The importance of case histories for accepting and improving homeopathy.

Unlabelled: Case histories are necessary besides other types of evidence to convince doctors of a specific type action of homeopathic medicines. Prognosis of treatment does not merely depend on efficacy. Some considerations based on consensus meetings about best cases and prospective research into the relationship between symptoms and result.

Plausibility and evidence: the case of homeopathy.

Homeopathy is controversial and hotly debated. The conclusions of systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials of homeopathy vary from 'comparable to conventional medicine' to 'no evidence of effects beyond placebo'. It is claimed that homeopathy conflicts with scientific laws and that homoeopaths reject the naturalistic outlook, but no evidence has been cited.