Effectiveness of Eupatorium perfoliatum 30C in Preventing Dengue Fever: A Critical Appraisal

Response to the Letter to the Editor: Effectiveness of Eupatorium perfoliatum 30C in Preventing Dengue Fever: A Critical Appraisal

This is a comment on the newly published research article, “Effectiveness of Eupatorium perfoliatum 30C in preventing dengue fever – a prospective, community-based, open label, parallel cohort study in Delhi, India”.[1] This study on the prophylactic effectiveness of Eupatorium perfoliatum (EP) 30C against dengue disease has yielded intriguing results, but it has raised some observations about detailed content and methods. First, open-label parallel cohort designs are not as robust as randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Because randomization was not used, patients in the medication cohort and the control cohort may have had distinct baseline factors that influenced dengue. Furthermore, because no blinding was used, there is a potential that participants' awareness of their therapy would influence their reporting of illness and their adherence to dengue precautions.

Another issue that must be addressed is the reliance on self-reported data and laboratory confirmation of dengue. Because dengue fever diagnosis is difficult and prone to error, this dichotomous approach may impair the reliability of outcome measurements. Furthermore, while this study found strong preventative effects of EP 30C, it is critical to assess the therapeutic relevance of these results. Although statistically significant, the 59.59% drop in suspected/laboratory-confirmed dengue infections and the 72.78% reduction in laboratory-confirmed cases would have a small impact on public health.

For a broader debate, the following questions should be considered: what are the consequences of utilizing homeopathic treatments like EP 30C in public health interventions? How to balance traditional therapies with evidence-based medicine in the treatment of diseases like dengue fever? Can educational materials influence health outcomes and the effectiveness of treatment? Future study should focus on performing RCTs to identify and confirm a causal association between EP 30C's efficacy in dengue prevention. It would also be beneficial to study the mechanisms by which EP 30C exerts its protective benefits in laboratory settings and in pre-clinical animal research.

Furthermore, investigating psychosocial factors that influence patient compliance and treatment outcomes may yield more nuanced findings. The combination of traditional medicine with modern scientific methods in this subject has the potential to generate something new, resulting in a novel disease prevention paradigm that respects cultural practices while maintaining evidence-based efficacy.

Author Contributions

H.P.: 50% (ideas, writing, analyzing, approval); V.W.: 50% (ideas, supervision, approval).

Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 26. Oktober 2024

Angenommen: 31. Oktober 2024

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
25. Februar 2025

• Reference

• 1 Nayak D, Kaur L, Bhalerao R. et al. Effectiveness of Eupatorium perfoliatum 30C in preventing dengue fever—a prospective, community-based, open label, parallel cohort study in Delhi, India. Homeopathy 2024 (e-pub ahead of print).