ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH) is common in older men. This study compared homeopathic treatment strategies using constitutional medicines (CM) or organopathic medicines (OM) alone or in combination (BCOM) in patients suffering from BPH. METHODS: 220 men aged 30-90 years were recruited in Odisha, India. Patients presenting symptoms of prostatism, with or without evidence of bladder outflow obstruction were included in the study. Patients with serum prostate specific antigen (PSA)> 4 nmol/mL, malignancy, complete urine retention, stone formation and gross bilateral hydronephrosis were excluded. Patients were sequentially allocated to OM, CM or BCOM. The main outcome measure was the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). RESULTS: 73, 70 and 77 patients respectively were sequentially allocated to OM, CM or BCOM. 180 patients (60 per group) completed treatment and were included in the final analysis. Overall 85% of patients showed improvement of subjective symptoms such as frequency, urgency, hesitancy, intermittent flow, unsatisfactory urination, feeble stream, diminution of residual urine volume but there was no reduction in prostate size. Treatment response was highest with BCOM (38.24%) compared to OM (31.62%) and CM (30.15%). Effect sizes were highest for the decrease in IPSS, residual urine volume and urinary flow rate.
