Impact of Homeopathic Treatment in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Long-term Follow-up Single Case

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, multisystem, inflammatory autoimmune disease primarily affects symmetrical joints, followed by skin, eyes, heart, kidneys, and lungs. The progression is marked by erosion of cartilage and bone resulting in pain and deformity of joints. Despite the rising number of new medications and treatment regimes, several patients do not attain long-term disease remission, necessitating the development of new therapeutic choices. We present a case of a 48-year-old female presented with pain, swelling and stiffness of different small and big joints of two years duration which later diagnosed as Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) based on The American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) Classification Criteria for Rheumatoid Arthritis. Following thorough clinical evaluation, the case was treated with Natrum Sulphuricum and Thuja Occidentalis in varied potency at different time points, tailored as per the presentation. Marked improvement was observed in about 10 months of treatment. Outcomes were evaluated through clinical presentation, visual analogue scale for pain (VAS-P) and stiffness (VAS-S), and Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) score measured at various time points. The before -after treatment score in the VAS-P, VAS-S and PCS were 90-0, 90-0 and 36-6, respectively. The change in Serum RA factor was 1375.84 IU/ml to 87.20 IU/ml, and 84 mm/hr to 36 mm/hr in Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR), following the treatment. This case illustrates the utility of homoeopathy to treat a RA patient with a very difficult and lengthy clinical history. However, a single case cannot be used to determine the causal attribution, hence an adequately powered randomised clinical trial is recommended.