Year: 2026 | Month: September | Volume: 16 | Issue: 9 | Pages: 120-134
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20260914
Individualized Homoeopathic Treatment of Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections: A Case Series with WURSS-21 Assessment
Parveen Middya1, Somashree Das1, Regina Subba1, Anju Ramachandaran1, Kausthab Dey2, Indrani Pramanik3
1Post Graduate Trainee, Department of Homoeopathic Materia Medica,
Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital. Howrah, West Bengal, India
2Post Graduate Trainee, Department of Practice of Medicine,
Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital. Howrah, West Bengal, India
3Professor, HOD, Department of Physiology including Biochemistry,
Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital. Howrah, West Bengal, India
Corresponding Author: Parveen Middya
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are common acute illnesses, predominantly caused by viruses. This case series aimed to describe the clinical outcomes of individualized homoeopathic treatment in URTI using the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey-21 (WURSS-21).
Materials and Methods: Ten patients with acute URTI attending a Government Homoeopathic Hospital OPD between February and December 2024 were included. Individualized homoeopathic medicines were prescribed following detailed case taking, repertorial analysis and Materia Medica consultation. Symptom severity and functional impact were assessed using WURSS-21 during follow-up.
Results: Improvement in symptoms including cough, sore throat, coryza, sneezing and fever was observed in all 10 cases, with no adverse effects reported. Bryonia alba was the most frequently indicated remedy (40%), followed by Arsenicum album (20%). Rhus Toxicodendron, Calcarea carbonica, Rumex crispus, Sepia was each indicated in one case (10%).
Conclusion: Individualized homoeopathic treatment was associated with clinical improvement in these 10 cases. However, the uncontrolled case-series design and small sample size limit conclusions regarding efficacy. Further controlled studies using validated outcome measures such as WURSS-21 are warranted.
Key words: Upper respiratory tract infection, Homoeopathy, individualized homoeopathic medicine, Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey- 21, case series.