Efficacy of a homeopathic preparation in control of post-operative pain—A pilot clinical trial

SummaryBackgroundDespite modern surgical technique and anaesthesia, post-operative pain following ambulatory surgery remains an important cause of delayed hospital discharge, readmission, and post-operative visits to primary care physician. Traumeel S® is a homeopathic complex preparation widely used in German speaking Europe for trauma and orthopaedic pain.MethodsWe performed an open, quasi-randomized triple-arm clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of two regimens of Traumeel S® in minimizing post-operative pain and analgesic consumption following elective Hallux valgus surgery. A total of 30 patients were assigned to the single injection, the injection + oral intake (PO) or the control group. Repeated measures of maximal pain at rest during 13 days post-operative were evaluated using a linear mixed effects model. The total consumption of analgesics was also compared between the three groups.ResultsThe single injection and injection + PO groups experienced lower pain scores as compared to the control group (p = 0.02 and 0.05, respectively). There was no significant difference between the single injection group and the injection + PO groups. Similarly, the mean total consumption of analgesics was lower in the single injection and the injection + PO groups than in the control group but the difference was not statistically significant.ConclusionIn this pilot study, Traumeel S® demonstrated efficacy in minimizing post-operative pain following repair of H. valgus. These promising results should be validated in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo controlled trial.