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Table 4 Summary statistics for: (a) trials at uncertain risk of bias; (b) trials at high risk of bias

From: Veterinary homeopathy: Systematic review of medical conditions studied by randomised trials controlled by other than placebo

a) UNCERTAIN RISK OF BIAS

iii: Non-individualised/Prophylaxis

Ref.

First author

Year

Condition

Species

Outcome measure

Hom.

Cont.

Summary effect measure

Effect size (95 % CI)

Direction of change favouring homeopathy

Direction of effect

P value

Inference

*

A34

Signoretti

2008

Ectoparasite infestation

Cattle

Faecal egg count per gram

340 (sd, 214); N = 8

207 (sd, 131); N = 8

SMD

0.71 [−0.31, 1.73]

Lower

Cont.

0.17

[iii: b]

A36

Soto

2008

Diarrhoea (neonatal)

Pigs

Number of animal-days with diarrhoea

34/192

25/192

OR

0.70 [0.40, 1.22]

Lower

Cont.

0.20

[iii: b]

A31

Reis

2006

Handling stress

Cattle

Serum cortisol

5.1 (sd, 1.8); N = 30

5.3 (sd, 1.45); N = 30

SMD

−0.12 [−0.63, 0.39]

Lower

Hom.

0.64

[iii: b]

A32

Reis

2008

Immune response to rabies vaccination

Cattle

Rabies-neutralizing antibody titer

10.8 (sd, 9.5); N = 15

14.4 (sd, 11.1); N = 15

SMD

−0.34 [−1.06, 0.38]

Higher

Cont.

0.36

[iii: b]

b) HIGH RISK OF BIAS

i: Individualised/Treatment

Ref.

First author

Year

Condition

Species

Outcome measure

Hom.

Cont.

Summary effect measure

Effect size (95 % CI)

Direction of change favouring homeopathy

Direction of effect

P value

Inference

a

A12

Schütte

1988

Mastitis, metritis and agalactia

Pigs

None useable

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

ii: Non-individualised/Treatment

Ref.

First author

Year

Condition

Species

Outcome measure

Hom.

Cont.

Summary effect measure

Effect size (95 % CI)

Direction of change favouring homeopathy

Direction of effect

P value

Inference

*

A42

Lohr

2013

Diarrhoea (neonatal)

Cattle

Cure rate (Sum-score [physical condition])

37/50

42/56

OR

0.95 [0.40, 2.28]

Higher

Cont.

0.91

[iii: a]

A14

Coelho

2009

Diarrhoea (neonatal)

Pigs

Proportion of animals without diarrhoea at the end of treatment

35/35

5/9

OR

58.09 [2.73, 1234.82]

Higher

Hom.

0.009

[i: a]

A41

Catto

2013

Ectoparasite infestation

Cattle

None useable

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

A19

Silva

2008

Ectoparasite infestation

Cattle

None useable

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

A40

Lotfollahzadeh

2012

Foot-and-mouth disease

Cattle

Rectal temperature

38.6 (sd, 0.2); N = 50

39.0 (sd, 0.1); N = 15

SMD

−2.16 [−2.86, −1.47]

Lower

Hom.

<0.001

[i: a]

A21

Zacharias

2008

Gastrointestinal nematodes

Sheep

Faecal egg count

954 (sd, 1077); N = 7

1308 (sd, 1108); N = 7

SMD

−0.30 [−1.36, 0.75]

Lower

Hom.

0.57

[iii: a]

A15

Faulstich

2006

Lameness

Horses

Treatment success (overall effectiveness)

18/22

14/19

OR

1.61 [0.36, 7.12]

Higher

Hom.

0.53

[iii: a]

A16

Klocke

2010

Mastitis

Cattle

Absence of clinical mastitis infection

29/32

32/36

OR

1.21 [0.25, 5.86]

Higher

Hom.

0.81

[iii: a]

A20

Varshney

2005

Mastitis

Cattle

Quarter cure-rate (non-fibrosed)

58/67

57/96

OR

4.41 [1.96, 9.93]

Higher

Hom.

<0.001

[i: a]

A39

Braun

2011

Mastitis, metritis and agalactia

Pigs

Cure rate (MMA-sum score)

20/28

21/32

OR

1.31 [0.44, 3.92]

Higher

Hom.

0.63

[iii: a]

A13

Beceriklisoy

2008

Pseudopregnancy

Dogs

Treatment 'success' (recovery rate)

30/30

3/8

OR

95.86 [4.32, 2126.07]

Higher

Hom.

0.004

[i: a]

A18

Sandoval

1998

Salmonellosis

Birds

None useable

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

A17

Rocha

2006

Gastrointestinal nematodes

Sheep

Proportion of animals not requiring anti-helminthic treatment

7/10

5/10

OR

2.33 [0.37, 14.61]

Higher

Hom.

0.37

[iii: b]

iii: Non-individualised/Prophylaxis

Ref.

First author

Year

Condition

Species

Outcome measure

Hom.

Cont.

Summary effect measure

Effect size (95 % CI)

Direction of change favouring homeopathy

Direction of effect

P value

Inference

a

A35

Sommer

1972

Infertility

Cattle

Number with infertility disorders

13/40

9/18

OR

2.08 [0.67, 6.47]

Lower

Hom.

0.21

[iii: c]

A38

Williamson

1991

Infertility

Cattle

None useable

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

  1. Hom. = homeopathy. Cont. = control. CI = confidence interval. sd = standard deviation. SMD = standardised mean difference. OR = odds ratio
  2. Italic text indicates trials with a potential risk of bias due to funding source (see also Table 1)
  3. aInference from the statistical findings is given by reference to the numbered study designs in Methods: Direction of effect of treatment/prophylaxis per trial