{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T17:00:01Z","timestamp":1788973201023,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"Georg Thieme Verlag KG","issue":"02","funder":[{"name":"Ministry of AYUSH, Govt. of India","award":["F. No. S.14015\/6\/2020-Scheme"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["F. No. S.14015\/6\/2020-Scheme"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Homeopathy"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>\n          Introduction\u2003There is some evidence that homeopathic treatment has been used successfully in previous epidemics, and currently some countries are testing homeoprophylaxis for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. There is a strong tradition of homeopathic treatment in India: therefore, we decided to compare three different homeopathic medicines against placebo in prevention of COVID-19 infections.<\/jats:p><jats:p>\n          Methods\u2003In this double-blind, cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled, four parallel arms, community-based, clinical trial, a 20,000-person sample of the population residing in Ward Number 57 of the Tangra area, Kolkata, was randomized in a 1:1:1:1 ratio of clusters to receive one of three homeopathic medicines (Bryonia alba 30cH, Gelsemium sempervirens 30cH, Phosphorus 30cH) or identical-looking placebo, for 3 (children) or 6 (adults) days. All the participants, who were aged 5 to 75 years, received ascorbic acid (vitamin C) tablets of 500\u2009mg, once per day for 6 days. In addition, instructions on healthy diet and general hygienic measures, including hand washing, social distancing and proper use of mask and gloves, were given to all the participants.<\/jats:p><jats:p>\n          Results\u2003No new confirmed COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in the target population during the follow-up timeframe of 1 month\u2014December 20, 2020 to January 19, 2021\u2014thus making the trial inconclusive. The Phosphorus group had the least exposure to COVID-19 compared with the other groups. In comparison with placebo, the occurrence of unconfirmed COVID-19 cases was significantly less in the Phosphorus group (week 1: odds ratio [OR], 0.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06 to 0.16; week 2: OR, 0.004; 95% CI, 0.0002 to 0.06; week 3: OR, 0.007; 95% CI, 0.0004 to 0.11; week 4: OR, 0.009; 95% CI, 0.0006 to 0.14), but not in the Bryonia or Gelsemium groups.<\/jats:p><jats:p>\n          Conclusion\u2003Overall, the trial was inconclusive. The possible effect exerted by Phosphorus necessitates further investigation.<\/jats:p><jats:p>\n          Trial registration:\u2003CTRI\/2020\/11\/029265.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1055\/s-0041-1734026","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,29]],"date-time":"2021-10-29T23:29:23Z","timestamp":1635550163000},"page":"097-104","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Homeopathic Medicines Used as Prophylaxis in Kolkata during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Community-Based, Cluster-Randomized Trial"],"prefix":"10.1055","volume":"111","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5773-2921","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shyamal Kumar","family":"Mukherjee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community Medicine, D.N.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Subhasish","family":"Ganguly","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Organon of Medicine and Homoeopathic Philosophy, D.N.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Satadal","family":"Das","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology & Microbiology, D.N.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kalyan Kumar","family":"Chatterjee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, DN.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kisor Kumar","family":"Naskar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materia Medica, D.N.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Samit","family":"Dey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Repertory, D.N.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saptarshi","family":"Choudhury","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Practice of Medicine, D.N.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amitava","family":"Paul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community Medicine, D.N.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sasanka Sekhar","family":"Sarkar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, D.N.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Soumya","family":"Bhattacharyya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materia Medica, D.N.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sumana","family":"Sengupta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Practice of Medicine, D.N.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sk. Monsur","family":"Alam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Repertory, D.N.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pulakendu","family":"Bhattacharya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Organon of Medicine and Homoeopathic Philosophy, D.N.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Satyajit","family":"Naskar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Organon of Medicine and Homoeopathic Philosophy, D.N.De Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Govt. of West Bengal, Tangra, Kolkata, West Bengal, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sudeshna","family":"Mukherjee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of 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