Shubhamoy Ghosh

MBHMCH · Pathology and Microbiology

Background Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic relapsing and remitting inflammatory skin disease that can have a significant impact on quality of life. During the last four decades, a rising trend in AD has been observed in India. Homeopathic medicines are claimed to be beneficial in AD; however, convincing research evidence has been lacking. We co...

Context: Gastrointestinal ailments are some of the common conditions treated in homeopathy; yet only a few trials have explored the effects of individualized homeopathic medicines (IHMs) for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Objective: To explore the efficacy of IHMs in treatment of IBS. Design: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Set...

Objectives: Prediabetes is a major public health concern. Different plant extracts are used in homeopathy as mother tinctures (MTs) for the treatment of prediabetes as an adjunct to individualized homeopathic medicines (IHMs); however, their effectiveness remains under-researched. Design: Open-label, randomized (1:1), active-controlled, pragmatic,...

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is associated with increased burden and reduced health‑related quality of life (HRQoL); however, there is no available Bengali questionnaire assessing the same. Purpose: We aimed to develop the Bengali version of the questionnaire and examine its cross‑cultural adaptability considering linguistic equivalence. Meth...

Introduction Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a chronic degenerative condition causing marked thickening and fibrosis of the plantar fascia, and collagen necrosis, chondroid metaplasia and calcification. There is little convincing evidence in support of various approaches, including homeopathy, for treating PF. This study was undertaken to examine the eff...

In the past few months, the Coronavirus infection (COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2) has invaded the globe with its infectious nature. The adverse situation and panic resulting from it has put the whole medical fraternity in a state of worry. Every country has engaged itself to fight with this deadly situation. History has rarely seen such rapidity in the devel...

Objective: Homeopathic treatment is claimed to be beneficial for primary dysmenorrhoea (PD); still, systematic research evidences remain compromised. This study was undertaken to examine the efficacy of individualized homeopathic medicines (IH) against placebo in the treatment of PD. Methods: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was...

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a zoonotic disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Its symptoms range from mild fever, cough, pharyngitis to severe acute respiratory syndrome. Since its first outbreak in Wuhan province of China, the disease has spread worldwide and emerged as pandemic. The infecti...

Background: Healthcare workers are prone to suffer from stress, sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety and other mental health problems. The adequate attention towards this vulnerable population still lacks, especially in developing countries. Yoga is an ancient practice of remaining in health through the integration of body, mind and spirit. Seve...

Homoeopathy, being effective in various disease conditions, is a very popular choice of treatment among patients after conventional therapies. Despite that, the scientific community always tuned down its adoption due to the unexplored mechanism of action of homeopathic medicines. Unexplained working principles of Post-Avogadro dilutions and lack of...

Homeopathy is the system of medicine which emphasizes various diluted and potentized medicines for the treatment of different disease conditions. The use of mother tinctures (MT) has long been known for its existence in the regular homeopathic practice. Tincture of Cephalandra indica, Gymnema sylvestre, Syzygium jambolanum are commonly used in Diab...

Background: Iron-deficiency anemia is considered to be a major health problem in India. This can complicate a normal pregnancy resulting in poor maternal and fetal outcomes. Iron-folic-acid (IFA) supplementation to antenatal and postnatal mothers given through the National Health Mission (NHM) serves as a major tool to combat this problem. Aim:...

Urticaria or nettle rash is an inflammatory clinical condition principally due to hypersensitive reaction manifest as wheals and/or angioedema at various locations of the body. Chronic spontaneous urticaria constitutes a small percentage among the class of urticaria in which recurrence persists for more than 6 months without any identifiable cause....

Background Panton-Valentine toxin (PVT) is an important pathological marker of staphylococcal infection mediated by functional as well as morphological damage of the phagocytic cells. Human body being an ecological niche for the bacteria shows higher affinity toward staphylococcal infection. A steady escalation in mortality and morbidity associated...

Homeopathic education has passed through significant incremental changes in the past few years, where especially postgraduate education has become increasingly slanted toward advanced knowledge of clinical work and research methods. Among many educational activities, a great source of learning is from presenting at or attending a journal club meeti...

Molluscum contagiosum (MC) is a benign skin condition having peculiar pearly white or pink lesions. This is considered to be a very contagious disease, common in children of low socioeconomic group. Conventionally, local removal of lesions is the primary choice of treatment, commonly cryotherapy. This is a report of three cases suffering from MC fo...

Background: Pre-diabetes can be termed as at risk of developing diabetes. Targeting pre-diabetes in the population may be considered as having immense value in preventing much adversity of diabetes. Keeping this in mind we intend to evaluate the effectiveness of add-on plant extracts used in homeopathy as mother tinctures in pre-diabetes. Methods/D...

Background: Among the post-immunization adverse events, especially of Diphtheria-Pertusis-Tetanus (DPT), fever is a common systemic reaction. There is anecdotal support for the use of the homeopathic medicine Arsenicum album in preventing post-vaccination fever. The investigators intended to evaluate its efficacy in preventing febrile episodes fol...

Aim: Controversies and disagreements exist regarding conventional treatment strategies of hemorrhoids due to relapse, inefficacy and complications. We intend to evaluate the role of individualized homeopathic treatment in hemorrhoids. Materials and methods: In this prospective, open, observational trial, hemorrhoid patients were treated using five...

Aim Controversies and disagreement exist on conventional treatment strategies of hemorrhoids due to relapse, inefficacy, and complications. We intend to evaluate the role of individualized homeopathic treatment in hemorrhoids. Materials and Methods In this prospective, open, observational trial, hemorrhoids patients were treated using five standar...

Preparative and AFM data analysis related details. (DOC)

In the past 3 years during 2013-15, Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital (MBHMC&H) has initiated performing extensive clinical researches in homoeopathy. Mainstay of clinical researches included two randomized controlled trials on essential hypertension and knee osteoarthritis; three observational trials on vitiligo, aller...

High prevalence of undiagnosed cases of diabetes mellitus and poor knowledge, awareness, and practice has increased premature death, costly complications, and financial burden. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in November 2014 on 273 diabetics and 355 nondiabetics in 3 government homeopathic hospitals in West Bengal, India. A self-administere...

Few homeopathic complexes seemed to produce significant effects in osteoarthritis; still, individualized homeopathy remained untested. We evaluated the feasibility of conducting an efficacy trial of individualized homeopathy in osteoarthritis. A prospective, parallel-arm, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted from J...

Documentation of prescriptions and clinical outcomes in routine homeopathic practice is a prerequisite for conducting targeted research in homeopathy. Six homeopathic physicians participated in methodical data collection over a 3-month period in 6 outpatient departments of Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal,...

Background: Service quality (SQ) is the perceived difference between expectation and performance along the quality dimensions. It is central to the process of continuous quality improvement; however, SQ has rarely been studied in homeopathic hospital settings. Objective: To examine the quality of service provided by four government homeopathic hosp...

Homeopathy research has focused on chronic conditions; however, the extent to which current homeopathic care is compliant with the Chronic Care Model (CCM) has been sparsely shown. As the Bengali Patient-Assessed Chronic Illness Care (PACIC)-20 was not available, the English questionnaire was translated and evaluated in a government homeopathic hos...

A preliminary version of the homeopathic prescribing and patient care indicators was available. The instrument was modified further in this study with an intention to address formally its validity and reliability, audit prescriptions, identify areas of sub-optimal prescribing, and highlight target areas for improving the quality of practices. A cro...

Hering's Law Assessment Tool emerged as a systematic outcome assessment tool following homeopathic intervention. The authors intend to modify it and develop a new tool-Patient Response Assessment Tool after Homeopathic Treatment (PRATHoT)-in chronic cases through Delphi technique for systematic categorization of probable outcomes following individu...

The American Patient Activation Measure-22 questionnaire (PAM-22) quantifies the knowledge, skills, and confidence essential to manage own health and health care. It is a central concept in chronic illness care models, but studied sparsely in homeopathic hospitals. PAM-22 was translated into Bengali and a cross-sectional study was undertaken in chr...

Accessibility to and utilization of the hospital health services is a complex and multifaceted issue. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of the patients of health services, current level of access to and utilization of services and to identify barriers and socioeconomic disparities in an Indian homeopathic hospital. A cross-sectional survey w...

Background Homeopathic research conducted by new graduates (i.e. house staff [HS]) and postgraduate trainees (PGTs) in India remains seriously compromised.Objective To assess HS and PGT knowledge and attitudes towards homeopathic research and to identify the barriers to conducting research.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in four gover...

This pilot investigation initiated a research-targeted systematic dental homeopathy data collection in the dental outpatient section in a government homeopathic hospital in West Bengal, India. One conventionally trained dentist and 3 homeopathic doctors collected data from 949 appointments of 411 patients over 3 months. A specifically designed Exce...

The most frequently consulted alternative therapists for uterine fibroids (leiomyomas) are the homeopaths; however, there is a paucity of research evidence. Based on a study involving 45 recruited patients with symptomatic uterine fibroids, the authors conclude that individualized homeopathy can be regarded as effective in this condition; however,...

To our knowledge, prescription of homeopathic medicines by homeopathic undergraduate students has not been studied before though it may possess serious implications. We aimed to determine the practice and attitudes of prescription by homeopathic undergraduate students. A cross-sectional study was carried out involving all the students from four gov...

BACKGROUND: Self-medication (SM) is increasingly being considered as an integral component and growing trend of self-care. This study aimed to describe the self-reported practices of medication by the undergraduate homeopathic students at three government homeopathic schools in West Bengal, India. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey used a questio...

Background: Prioritizing undergraduate research is emphasized to develop critical analytical skills and thinking, independent writing, future clinical practice, enhanced employability, and improved research productivity. Despite far reaching consequences, research perception of homeopathic undergraduate students has barely been investigated to date...

Background: A basic understanding of biostatistics is essential, both for designing quality research and evaluating medical literature. We evaluated the understanding of biostatistics and interpretation of research results among homeopathic fresh graduates' (House Staffs; HSs) and postgraduate trainees' (PGTs) in West Bengal, India. Methods: A cros...

Improper prescribing habits and inappropriate drug use lead to serious health and economic consequences. This study was undertaken to evaluate drug utilization services and prescription patterns of homeopathic doctors in a government homeopathic teaching hospital in India. No standardized homeopathic drug use indicators are available. The researche...

Background and aims – Discovering the degree of patient satisfaction in a medical practice setting may put substantial impact in improving health status and quality of care provided. In this study, the researchers evaluated the degree of patient satisfaction following medical encounters and re-examined the validity and reliability of the used quest...

Background: Hypertension, being the commonest cardiovascular disorder, poses major health challenge to the population by causing coronary artery disease, stroke, left ventricular failure etc. Despite development of several therapeutic strategies, it results in millions of death every year. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of dietary...

Background & Aim: Systematic reviews of high-quality randomized controlled trials are crucial to evidence-based medicine. The objective of this review is to test whether there is enough evidence of efficacy of homeopathy from conducted clinical trials in humans suffering from HIV/AIDS. Methods: The study design was criteria-based systematic review...

Background: Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular disorder posing a major public health challenge to the population. Homoeopathy, although widely used in hypertension, is assumed to have nothing but placebo effects and its specific clinical effects are frequently ascribed as implausible. Aims: To evaluate whether individualized homoeopathy...

Background: Hyperlipidemia, being frequently associated with diabetes mellitus, hypertension and coronary artery disease represents a continuing crisis of epidemic proportions, leading cause of death every year and a major public health challenge to the population. Despite development of several therapeutic strategies, patients' compliance remains...