EFFECT OF HOMEOPATHY ON PAIN AND OTHER EVENTS AFTER ACUTE TRAUMA - PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH BILATERAL ORAL-SURGERY

Objective-To examine whether homoeopathy has any effect on pain and ot her inflammatory events after surgery. Design-Randomised double blind, placebo controlled crossover trial with ''identical'' oral surgical p rocedures performed on two separate occasions in 24 patients. Interven tions-Treatment started 3 hours after surgery with either homoeopathy or placebo. Main outcome measures-Postoperative pain and preference fo r postoperative course assessed by patients on visual analogue scales. Measurements of postoperative swelling and reduction in ability to op en mouth. Assessment of bleeding after surgery. Results-Pain after sur gery was essentially the same whether treated with homoeopathy or plac ebo. Postoperative swelling was not significantly affected by homoeopa thy, but treatment tended to give less reduction in ability to open mo uth. No noticeable difference was seen in postoperative bleeding, side effects, or complaints. Thirteen of the 24 patients preferred the pos toperative course with placebo. Conclusions-No positive evidence was f ound for efficacy of homoeopathic treatment on pain and other inflamma tory events after an acute soft tissue and bone injury inflicted by a surgical intervention. Differences in the order of 30% to 40% would ha ve been needed to show significant effects.