Table 2 Sample sizes and outcomes for 20 OTP-controlled RCTs
i: Individualised/Treatment | |||||||||||||||
Ref. | First author | Year | N start (hom.) | N start (cont.) | N start (tot.) | N end (hom.) | N end (cont.) | N end (tot.) | % Attrition | Designated 'main outcome' | Type of data | Direction of change favouring homeopathy | Problem with designated 'main outcome measure' | End-point | Notes |
A12 | Schütte | 1988 | 33 | 31 | 64 | 33 | 31 | 64 | 0.0 | Piglet mortality | Dichot. | Lower | Yes: Gives percentage of dead piglets (events) but not number of piglets born (total) | 28 d | N = No. of sows treated |
ii: Non-individualised/Treatment | |||||||||||||||
Ref. | First author | Year | N start (hom.) | N start (cont.) | N start (tot.) | N end (hom.) | N end (cont.) | N end (tot.) | % Attrition | Designated 'main outcome' | Type of data | Direction of change favouring homeopathy | Problem with designated 'main outcome measure' | End-point | Notes |
A42 | Lohr | 2013 | 53 | 56 | 109 | 46 | 54 | 100 | 8.3 | Cure rate (Sum-score (physical condition)) | Dichot. | Higher | Only 46 (Hom) and 54 (Cont) animals regularly completed the study, and are therefore the data for our calculations. The authors themselves calculated cure rate based on 50 and 56 animals respectively. | Up to 4 d | |
A14 | Coelho | 2009 | 35 | 11 | 46 | 35 | 9 | 44 | 4.3 | Proportion of animals without diarrhoea at the end of treatment | Dichot. | Higher | No | 12 d | |
A41 | Catto | 2013 | 72 | 36 | 108 | 72 | 36 | 108 | 0.0 | Faecal egg count | Contin. | Lower | Yes: Unclear sample sizes – see Notes | Second year | The numbers of animals in each group based on the assumption that each group comprised 3 paddocks (12 animals in each). No information on dropouts. |
A19 | Silva | 2008 | 9 | 9 | 18 | ?9 | ?9 | ?18 | Unclear | Mean number of engorged ticks per annum | Contin. | Lower | Yes: SD not stated; N at endpoint not stated | 1 yr | |
A40 | Lotfollahzadeh | 2012 | 52 | 23 | 75 | 50 | 15 | 65 | 13.3 | Rectal temperature | Contin. | Lower | 14 d | ||
A21 | Zacharias | 2008 | 7 | 7 | 14 | ?7 | ?7 | ?14 | Unclear | Faecal egg count | Contin. | Lower | No. Numbers for analysis interpolated from Figure 1A. N not stated for endpoint, but assumed to be N = 7. | 68 d | Disparity between data (mean eggs per gram) for conv med group given in text (1,483) and by inspection of Fig 1 (1,300 approx.) |
A15 | Faulstich | 2006 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 22 | 19 | 41 | 10.9 | Treatment success (overall effectiveness) | Dichot. | Higher | No : Numbers for analysis from percentage data in Table 9 | 21 d | Control really active? |
A16 | Klocke | 2010 | 32 | 36 | 68 | 32 | 36 | 68 | 0.0 | Absence of clinical mastitis infection | Dichot. | Higher | No: Data derived from text of Results [line 6]) | First 100 days post-calving | |
A20 | Varshney | 2005 | 67 | 96 | 163 | 67 | 96 | 163 | 0.0 | Quarter cure-rate (non-fibrosed) | Dichot. | Higher | No : Numbers for analysis from percentage data in Table 2 | Up to 28 d | N = quarters, not animals |
A39 | Braun | 2011 | 30 | 34 | 64 | 28 | 32 | 60 | 6.3 | Cure rate (MMA-sum score) | Dichot. | Higher | Up to 4 d (H) or 3 d (C) | ||
A13 | Beceriklisoy | 2008 | 30 | 8 | 38 | 30 | 8 | 38 | 0.0 | Treatment 'success' (recovery rate) | Dichot. | Higher | No | Up to 20 d | |
A18 | Sandoval | 1998 | 200 | 200 | 400 | 200 | 200 | 400 | 0.0 | Cumulative total mortality (1st quality broilers) | Contin. | Lower | Yes: Data are presented as accumulated mortality – not amenable to meta-analysis | 49 d | N = 1st quality broilers |
A17 | Rocha | 2006 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 0.0 | Proportion of animals not requiring anti-helminthic treatment | Dichot. | Higher | No: Data derived from text of Results (second paragraph) | 4 mo (first phase) | |
iii: Non-individualised/Prophylaxis | |||||||||||||||
Ref. | First author | Year | N start (hom.) | N start (cont.) | N start (tot.) | N end (hom.) | N end (cont.) | N end (tot.) | % Attrition | Designated 'main outcome' | Type of data | Direction of change favouring homeopathy | Problem with designated 'main outcome measure' | End-point | Notes |
A34 | Signoretti | 2008 | 8 | 8 | 16 | ?8 | ?8 | ?16 | Unclear | Faecal egg count per gram | Contin. | Lower | No. But assumes zero attrition rate. Data from Table 3. | 30 d | |
A36 | Soto | 2008 | 24 | 24 | 48 | 24 | 24 | 48 | 0.0 | Number of animal-days with diarrhoea | Dichot. | Lower | No. But relate 7-day cumulated data to total possible number of animal-days per group | 7d period | Hom plus sucrose saline vs. sucrose saline only |
A31 | Reis | 2006 | 30 | 30 | 60 | 30 | 30 | 60 | 0.0 | Serum cortisol | Contin. | Lower | No. Assumes zero attrition rate based on legend for Figure 1. | 60 d | Hom plus mineral salt vs. mineral salt only |
A32 | Reis | 2008 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 15 | ?15 | ?30 | Unclear | Rabies-neutralizing antibody titer | Contin. | Higher | No. But assumes zero attrition rate. | 60 d after vaccination | Compares Group FEV2 (Hom + salt) with Group V2 (salt only) |
A35 | Sommer | 1972 | 40 | 18 | 58 | 40 | 18 | 58 | 0.0 | Number with infertility disorders | Dichot. | Lower | No. Data from table 2 | Not stated | |
A38 | Williamson | 1991 | 101 | 32 | 133 | ?100 | ?32 | ?132 | Unclear | Number with peripartum disorders | Dichot. | Lower | Yes: Unclear tabulations | None | |