Italy was one of the worst hit countries with Covid19. Italian homeopaths compiled a study and presented for publication to many online Scientific journals. Here are some excerpts. The entire paper is posted below, two different publications of the same paper.
EXCERPTS: Discussion and perspectives
This is a preliminary field study in a peak epidemic period aimed at recording the treatment and
clinical recovery of affected patients.
The study in its development made it possible to address several general issues, which became
apparent during the study itself.
18 For example: Bryonia alba 200 CH
We verified that it was possible to carry out homeopathic treatment in an epidemic situation by
telephone or video-telephone consultation. The decrease of information and semiological data
that the patient normally provides in the normal outpatient consultation was partly compensated
by the interconnection between patient and doctor typical of homeopathic consultation19. Based
on this experience in the field, it is clear that homeopathic medicine can contribute to the
development of online medical consultation,20maintaining and developing its communicative
dimension.
Homeopathic doctors had to work in conditions far from their normal clinical practice, which made
their therapeutic intervention more difficult. This situation highlights the importance of the clinical
competence of the homeopathic doctors involved.
The hospitalization rate in this group of 50 patients treated homeopathically for COVID-19 was 0.
Given the emergency situation and the fact that homeopathy is practised almost exclusively on a
private level, it was not possible to carry out a control group with patients treated exclusively with
conventional medicine.
Moreover, within our knowledge, there are currently no studies examining the hospitalization rate
of a population in conditions similar to the one we examined, i.e. symptomatic patients in
isolation, both COVID-19 positive and highly probable, even though this population is widely
represented.
There are data on the level of hospitalization of positive COVID-19 patients, regardless of their
symptomatological status (20.4% in Italy, COVID-19 Task Force, op cit).
We consider it essential to collect data on the level of hospitalization and clinical course of all
patients in home isolation for COVID-19.
This kind of investigation is even more important because, while swab positivity is crucial for health
containment policies, from a clinical point of view several studies are starting to make clear that
there is NOT a clear correlation between swab positivity, clinical course and patient prognosis, as
stated in a recent article21:
“The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are protean, which include asymptomatic carrier, ARD,
and pneumonia of varying degrees of severity. First, asymptomatic cases were diagnosed based on
positive viral nucleic acid test results, but without any COVID-19 symptoms, such as fever,
gastrointestinal, or respiratory symptoms, and no significant abnormalities on chest radiograph.
the transmission of COVID-19 through asymptomatic carriers via person-to-person
contact was observed in many reports.
Second, patients with ARD defined as laboratory-confirmed
COVID-19 cases had respiratory symptoms; however, chest computed tomography (CT) did not
reveal signs of pneumonia. Third, patients with pneumonia defined as COVID-19 cases had both
respiratory symptoms and pneumonia on chest radiograph.”
Another aspect that the study highlights is the problem of the diagnostic integration of the value
of the nucleic acid amplification test.
It has been attempted so far to address this by integrating data from other objective (imaging22 or
laboratory23) investigations into this test. The Italian study provides, instead, elements of
implementation and semiological and symptomatological refinement, and therefore based on the
competence and direct accuracy of the medical intervention.
A much larger sample of homeopathically treated patients is required to begin assessing the effect
of homeopathic treatment; a control group must also be set up.
It will also be important to have a long-term follow-up (indicatively 2 months) to verify the clinical
course, as COVID-19 disease may present recurrences, beyond the well-known apparent
intercritical remissions.
However, in the opinion of the authors, this study has provided interesting information and
opened up prospects for study. The COVID-19 disease is extremely complex, so it is essential to
combine the contributions of different medicines to increase clinical results, as is beginning to be
demonstrated by the integration of allopathic medicine with traditional Chinese medicine:
"Treatment practice of COVID-19 showed that early intervention of TCM is important way to
improve cure rate, shorten the course of disease, delay disease progression and reduce mortality
rate24".
FIRST PUBLICATION TO RESEARCH GATE
REMEDIES USED IN ITALY
The prescribed medications were, in order of frequency: Bryonia alba (21 times); Arsenicum Album
(16 times); Phosphorus flavus(9 times); Atropa belladonna (6 times); Antimonium tartaricum (6
times); Eupatorium perfoliatum (4 times); Phosphoricum acidum (3 times); unspecified patient's
basic remedy (3 times); Lycopodium clavatum(3 times); Sulphur (3 times); Hepar sulphur. (2
times); Kalium phosphoricum (2 times); Gelsemium sempervirens(2 times); Mercurius solubilis,
Chelidomum majus, Spigelia anthelmia, Solanum dulcamara, Psorinum, Spongia tosta, Ferrum
phosphoricum, Ruta graveolens, Causticum hahnemanni, Thuya occidentalis, Streptococcinum,
Ignatia amara (once each).
Dear Friends and Clients,
I would like to explain the use of remedies in Homeopathy. We have remedies named "Genus Epidemicus" - which are the remedies most frequently indicated or prescribed in a particular epidemic - it can change for different epidemics and can depend on geographical location as well. Pandemic means the type of expression is similar all over the world.
The patients who are already on WHOLISTIC homeopathic treatment with a constitutional remedy - often have NO NEED for a specific PREVENTION remedy as their immunity is good and they are able to deal with infective agents they face. Sometimes, an additional remedy may be required.
in the INDIAN context, the most common remedies for COVID or similar symptoms, I have used so far are in order of frequency: Arsenic album, Bryonia, Sulphur, Phosphorous, Eupatoreum Perfolatum, Pulsatilla, And on occasion Squilla and Camphor, when the above have not helped.
SO while Arsenic Album is a very good preventive remedy, there is always a possibility of a second line remedy or another remedy needed for specific cases depending on the symptoms.
April, 2020
SUMMARY (by Dana Ullman, MPH, CCH)
A group of 24 Italian medical doctors with an additional specialization in homeopathic medicines treated 50 patients with diagnosed or highly probable cases of COVID-19. Patients were prescribed a single individually selected homeopathic medicine based on each patient’s unique syndrome of symptoms, as per the homeopathic methodology. A review of 26 countries hospitalization rates for patients with COVID-19 is 32%. In Italy, the hospitalization rate is 20.4%, and the rate of patients in intensive care units is 18.7%. A listing of each homeopathic medicine prescribed is listed in this report. This study of 50 patients treated with homeopathic medicines found that their hospitalization rate was zero.
Below are excerpts from this report. Here is a link to the full report.
On the initiative of SIMO – Italian Society of Homeopathic Medicine (www.omeomed.net), a working group of homeopathic physicians and independent researchers began in January 2020 to collect documentation to prepare for the prevention and treatment of patients with COVID-19, which was immediately considered a very serious threat to public health.
The level of hospitalization is one of the key factors in assessing the ability of the health care system to respond to the epidemic. The recent ECDC report states: “Hospitalization occurred in 32% (48 755 of 152 375) of cases reported from 26 countries”(9)
In Italy, the bulletin on the Covid-19 epidemic of March 30, 2020 produced by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità writes: “Information on the place of treatment is available for 88,257 cases (about 70.8% of total cases). Currently 18,047 cases (20.4%) are hospitalized and of these 2,734 (18.7%) are hospitalized in intensive care”.(10)
Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of hospitalization of Covid-19 patients treated by doctors with additional expertise in homeopathy.