CTRI Number |
CTRI/2020/10/028617 [Registered on: 26/10/2020] Trial Registered Prospectively |
Last Modified On: |
19/05/2023 |
Post Graduate Thesis |
Yes |
Type of Trial |
Interventional |
Type of Study
|
Homeopathy |
Study Design |
Randomized, Parallel Group, Placebo Controlled Trial |
Public Title of Study
|
Homoeopathic treatment of sciatica pain |
Scientific Title of Study
|
Individualized homoeopathic medicines in sciatica pain: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, pilot trial |
Trial Acronym |
|
Secondary IDs if Any
|
Secondary ID |
Identifier |
U1111-1259-5038 |
UTN |
|
Details of Principal Investigator or overall Trial Coordinator (multi-center study)
|
Name |
Siddharth Kumar Das |
Designation |
Postgraduate Trainee |
Affiliation |
Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital |
Address |
Department of Homoeopathic Materia Medica; OPD no. 4; Dr. Bholanath Chakraborty Sarani (Drainage Canal Road), Doomurjala
Haora WEST BENGAL 711104 India |
Phone |
8981835382 |
Fax |
|
Email |
dassiddharthkumar@gmail.com |
|
Details of Contact Person Scientific Query
|
Name |
Dr Trishita Basu |
Designation |
Lecturer |
Affiliation |
Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital |
Address |
Department of Homoeopathic Materia Medica; OPD no. 4; Dr. Bholanath Chakraborty Sarani (Drainage Canal Road), Doomurjala
Haora WEST BENGAL 711104 India |
Phone |
8334941727 |
Fax |
|
Email |
drtrishita85@gmail.com |
|
Details of Contact Person Public Query
|
Name |
Prof Dr Shubhamoy Ghosh |
Designation |
Professor and Head |
Affiliation |
Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital |
Address |
Department of Pathology and Microbiology; OPD no. 4; Dr. Bholanath Chakraborty Sarani (Drainage Canal Road), Doomurjala
Haora WEST BENGAL 711104 India |
Phone |
9831034229 |
Fax |
|
Email |
shubhamoy67@gmail.com |
|
Source of Monetary or Material Support
|
Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Dr. Bholanath Chakraborty Sarani (Drainage Canal Road), Doomurjala, Howrah 711104, West Bengal |
|
Primary Sponsor
|
Name |
Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital |
Address |
Dr. Bholanath Chakraborty Sarani, Drainage Canal Road, Doomurjala, Howrah 711104, West Bengal |
Type of Sponsor |
Government medical college |
|
Details of Secondary Sponsor
|
|
Countries of Recruitment
|
India |
Sites of Study
|
No of Sites = 1 |
Name of Principal
Investigator |
Name of Site |
Site Address |
Phone/Fax/Email |
Siddharth Kumar Das |
Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital |
Department of Materia Medica; OPD no. 4; Dr. Bholanath Chakraborty Sarani (Drainage Canal Road), Doomurjala, Howrah 711104 Haora WEST BENGAL |
8981835382
dassiddharthkumar@gmail.com |
|
Details of Ethics Committee
|
No of Ethics Committees= 1 |
Name of Committee |
Approval Status |
Institutional Ethical Committee |
Approved |
|
Regulatory Clearance Status from DCGI
|
|
Health Condition / Problems Studied
|
Health Type |
Condition |
Patients |
(1) ICD-10 Condition: M543||Sciatica, |
|
Intervention / Comparator Agent
|
Type |
Name |
Details |
Intervention |
Individualized homoeopathic medicines in centesimal potencies |
Intervention is planned as administering indicated homoeopathic medicines in centesimal potencies, as decided appropriate to the case or condition. In centesimal scale, each dose shall consist of 4 globules (no. 30) of cane sugar, medicated with the indicated medicine (preserved in 90% v/v ethanol) to be taken orally on clean tongue with empty stomach; dosage and repetition depending upon the individual requirement of the cases. All medicines will be procured from a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-certified firm. All patients will be given general advices on posture maintenance, applying hot fomentation to back, use of firm bed, spinal extensor exercises, and avoiding lifting heavy weights. Route of administration of medicine: Oral. Duration of therapy: 3 months. |
Comparator Agent |
Placebo |
This arm will receive placebo, indistinguishable in appearance from verum. Each dose of placebo shall consist of 4 globules (no. 30) of cane sugar, moistened with rectified spirit, to be taken orally on clean tongue with empty stomach; dosage and repetition depending upon the individual requirement of the cases. All patients will be given general advices on posture maintenance, applying hot fomentation to back, use of firm bed, spinal extensor exercises, and avoiding lifting heavy weights. Route of administration of medicine: Oral. Duration of therapy: 3 months. |
|
Inclusion Criteria
|
Age From |
18.00 Year(s) |
Age To |
65.00 Year(s) |
Gender |
Both |
Details |
1. Patients experiencing low back pain radiating to lower limb (unilateral or bilateral) since 3 months or more (2018/19 ICD-10-CM diagnosis code M54.31); confirmed by straight leg raising (SLR) test
2. Age range 18-65 years and patients of either sex
3. Literate patients; ability to read and write in Bengali and/or English
4. Patients providing written informed consent |
|
ExclusionCriteria |
Details |
1. Patients suffering from uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, thyroid diseases
2. Patients having history of surgery to the lower back
3. Patients suffering from disc prolapse, psoriatic arthritis and gout, cases willing for or requiring immediate surgical intervention or already underwent any major spinal or hip surgery in last 6 months
4. Patients who are undergoing treatment with NSAIDs during 6 weeks prior to enrolment in the study
5. Spinal corticosteroid injection within 6 months
6. Diagnosed cases of unstable psychiatric illness
7. Pregnant, puerperal and lactating women
8. Self-reported immune-compromised state
9. Substance abuse and/or dependence |
|
Method of Generating Random Sequence
|
Computer generated randomization |
Method of Concealment
|
Pre-numbered or coded identical Containers |
Blinding/Masking
|
Participant, Investigator, Outcome Assessor and Date-entry Operator Blinded |
Primary Outcome
|
Outcome |
TimePoints |
Sciatica bothersomeness index (SBI) and sciatica frequency index (SFI) |
At baseline, every month, up to 3 months |
|
Secondary Outcome
|
Outcome |
TimePoints |
Roland Morris pain and disability questionnaire (RMPDQ) |
At baseline, every month, up to 3 months |
Short form McGill pain questionnaire (SF-MPQ) |
At baseline, every month, up to 3 months |
Oswestry LBP questionnaire |
At baseline, every month, up to 3 months |
|
Target Sample Size
|
Total Sample Size="60" Sample Size from India="60"
Final Enrollment numbers achieved (Total)= "60"
Final Enrollment numbers achieved (India)="60" |
Phase of Trial
|
Phase 2/ Phase 3 |
Date of First Enrollment (India)
|
27/10/2020 |
Date of Study Completion (India) |
18/08/2022 |
Date of First Enrollment (Global) |
Date Missing |
Date of Study Completion (Global) |
Date Missing |
Estimated Duration of Trial
|
Years="1" Months="6" Days="0" |
Recruitment Status of Trial (Global)
Modification(s)
|
Not Applicable |
Recruitment Status of Trial (India) |
Completed |
Publication Details
|
None yet; to be published later |
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement
|
Will individual participant data (IPD) be shared publicly (including data dictionaries)?
|
Brief Summary
Modification(s)
|
Sciatica is a debilitating condition in which the patients experience pain in the distribution of the sciatic nerve or associated lumbosacral nerve root. Homeopathy is claimed to be beneficial for sciatica pain; still, systematic research evidence remains compromised. To objective of the trial was to examine the efficacy of individualized homeopathic medicines (IHMs) against identical-looking placebos in the treatment of sciatica pain. A double-blind, randomized (1:1), two parallel arms, placebo-controlled trial was conducted at Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Howrah, West Bengal, India. Participants were randomized equally to receive either verum (n = 30; IHMs plus concomitant care) or control (n = 30; placebos plus concomitant care). Primary outcome measures were Sciatica Bothersome Index (SBI) and Sciatica Frequency Index (SFI) scores; and secondary outcomes were Roland Morris Pain and Disability Questionnaire (RMPDQ), Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), and Oswestry Low Back Pain Questionnaire (OLBPQ) scores; all of them were measured at baseline, and every month, up to 3 months. Intention-to-treat sample (n = 60) was analyzed. Group differences were examined by two-way (split-half) repeated measure analysis of variance, primarily taking into account all the estimates measured at monthly intervals, and secondarily, by unpaired t-tests comparing the estimates obtained individually every month. The level of significance was set at P less than 0.025 and 0.05 two-tailed for the primary and secondary outcomes respectively. Group differences could not achieve significance in SBI (P = 0.044), SFI (P = 0.080), and RMPDQ scores (P = 0.134); but were significant for SF-MPQ (P = 0.007) and OLBPQ (P = 0.036). Gnaphalium polycephalum (n = 6; 10%) was the most frequently prescribed medicine. No harm, serious adverse events, and intercurrent illnesses were recorded in either of the groups. Although the group differences in the primary outcomes were not large enough to be statistically significant favoring homeopathy against placebos, still, promising effects were detected in the secondary outcomes and the secondary analyses. Independent replications are warranted to confirm the findings. |