Homeopathy for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders in children

Background: Colic and diarrhea are among the most common gastrointestinal disorders in childhood, which manifest spontaneously and acute. The allopathic treatment consists, in most cases, in the administration of the association homatropine-dimethicone to relieve colic, and oral rehydration and loperamide in cases of diarrhea [1,2]. The ineffectiveness of the conventional treatment and the possible adverse effects they may cause have led to increase the demand from children’ parents for complementary and alternative therapies, and homeopathy can be one of the first choices in this disorders [3]. Aims: make a literature review evaluating the effectiveness of homeopathic treatment for colic and diarrhea in children, observing the relation between the main medicines prescribed in these disorders and their pathogenesis described in materia medica. Methodology: a literature research was performed applying electronic database, including Medline, HomeoIndex, BIREME, LILACS, PubMed, SciELO, and ScienceDirect in the period from September to December 2010. Results: Data found indicate that few studies are available in the literature to prove the effectiveness of homeopathic medicines for colic and diarrhea in children, but the applicability of this therapeutic modality seems to be useful, safe and low cost, which are important factors for less favored communities. Besides, studies concerning diarrhea are more frequent, not only because of its gravity, but also for the duration, which makes more adequate the monitoring, on the contrary to acute colic. The most cited medicines were Chamomilla, Nux vomica, Arsenicum album and Mercurius solubilis. Conclusions: Homeopathy can be an important source of colic and diarrhea relief. However, more investigations should be performed in order to show parents how valuable this kind of therapy can be to children and the whole family.

EFFICACY OF COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE IN TREATMENT OF POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION: A SITUATION ANALYSIS

Postpartum depression is a major public health issue worldwide. It varies in prevalence across countries. Pakistan remains highest to have the prevalence of postpartum depression among South Asian countries. A number of complementary and alternative medicines can help in decreasing depressive symptoms in the postpartum period. The purpose of this article is to subject review the use of complementary and alternative medicine as a treatment for postpartum depression. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted from articles using PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE published since the last ten years. The findings of this review suggest that various complementary and alternative therapies may help in the treatment of postpartum depression. This literature review demonstrated the significant effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of postpartum depression. As conclusion, the prevention and treatment of postpartum depression are essential for maternal as well as new-born health. Complementary and alternative medicine has less side effects than antidepressants which can affect maternal and newborn health adversely.

Comparison of efficacy and safety of complementary and alternative therapies for essential hypertension with anxiety or depression disorder

Background Essential hypertension (EH) with anxiety or depression belongs to the category of psycho-cardiology. Hypertension is closely related to anxiety and depression. The adverse reactions of Western medicine are apparent and the compliance is poor. Supplementary and replacement therapies have accumulated rich experience in clinical practices, which can reduce side effects and improve clinical efficacy. This study intends to use the Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA) analysis method for the first time to gather randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to complementary and alternative therapies in the treatment of hypertension with anxiety or depression disorder and rank efficacy and safety, to provide a reference basis for the treatment of hypertension with anxiety or depression disorder. Methods All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and registered and ongoing trials of Chinese and English databases, related to supplementation and replacement therapies of EH with anxiety or depression disorder, published from initial state to February 2021, will be collected in the form of computer retrieval. Two researchers will independently screen the literature, extracting data, assessing bias risk and assessing heterogeneity. We will use software WinBUGS 1.4.3 and Stata 16.0 for pairwise meta-analysis and NMA to comprehensively evaluate various interventions. The quality of evidence will be evaluated through the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Results This NMA will comprehensively compare and rank the efficacy and safety of a series of complementary and alternative therapies in treating EH with anxiety or depression disorder. Conclusion Supplementary and replacement therapies have accumulated rich experience of clinical practices in improving EH with anxiety or depression disorder. We expect that this NMA will guide practice and research by providing reliable evidence of evidence-based medicine for the treatment of EH with anxiety or depression disorder. Protocol registration number INPLASY202120068.