An observational study on the effect of individualised homoeopathic medicine administered based on totality of symptoms vis-à-vis personality in cases of osteoarthritis knee

Abstract

Background: Individualisation is the process of arriving at the image of the patient for the selection of remedy. The customary way of individualisation of the patient is through the construction of totality of symptoms. The little explored area in Homoeopathy is individualisation solely based on personality characteristics. Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the effect of individualised homoeopathic medicine administered based on totality of symptoms vis-à-vis personality in patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis. Methods: The observational study includes 60 clinically diagnosed cases of osteoarthritis knee, of which 30 cases were administered the homoeopathic medicine selected on the basis of totality of symptoms and thirty cases based on personality. Randomisation was done using computer-generated numbers. The personality of the patients was assessed through the 44-item Big-Five Inventory. A self-made tool, transcribing trait items to rubrics of the homoeopathic repertory, was prepared. The knee osteoarthritis scores on physical function, pain and patient global estimate in Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data 3 (RAPID3) sheet, before and after treatment, were compared. Results: The paired difference mean of RAPID3 in totality of symptom-based administration was 4.06 and for personality-based administration was 1.92 with a standard deviation of 3.91 and 3.29, respectively. The test result is statistically significant at 0.05 level (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Administration of individualised Homoeopathy medicine based on totality of symptoms is found to be more effective as compared to individualised Homoeopathy medicine based on personality amongst patients suffering from osteoarthritis knee.