Homeopathic treatment of patients with psoriasis – a prospective observational study with 2 years follow-up

Design  Prospective multicentre observational study.
Objective  To evaluate details and effects of homeopathic treatment in patients with psoriasis in usual medical care.
Methods  Primary care patients were evaluated over 2 years using standardized questionnaires, recording diagnoses and complaints severity, health-related quality of life (QoL), medical history, consultations, all treatments, and use of other health services.
Results  Forty-five physicians treated 82 adults, 51.2% women, aged 41.6 ± 12.2 (mean ± SD) years. Patients had psoriasis for 14.7 ± 11.9 years; 96.3% had been treated before. Initial case taking took 127 ± 47 min. The 7.4 ± 7.4 subsequent consultations (duration: 19.4 ± 10.5 min) cumulated to 169.0 ± 138.8 min. Patients received 6.0 ± 4.9 homeopathic prescriptions. Diagnoses and complaints severity improved markedly with large effect sizes (Cohen's d = 1.02–2.09). In addition, QoL improved (SF-36 physical component score d  = 0.26, mental component score d  = 0.49), while conventional treatment and health service use were considerably reduced.
Conclusions  Under classical homeopathic treatment, patients with psoriasis improved in symptoms and QoL.