OBJECTIVES: To compare "homeopathic drugs" strategy (H) with "antibiotic drugs" strategy (A) for treating recurrent acute rhinopharyngitis in France, in terms of effectiveness, quality of life, and costs. METHODS: Effectiveness, quality of life, and costs were derived from a 6-month pragmatic prospective study including 499 "children aged between 18 months and 4 years, who experienced at least 5 bouts of rhinopharyngitis in 1999, and who consulted a homeopathic or non-homeopathic GP for the first time in 2000 either for preventive treatment or for a current bout". Strategy H included 241 children that received at least 1 homeopathic drug and no antibiotics, and strategy A 190 children that received at least 1 antibiotic and no homeopathic drugs. In both strategies, other drugs could have been prescribed. Medical effectiveness was assessed by measuring the number of bouts of acute rhinopharyngitis, the number of complications, and the quality of family life using the Par-Ent-Qol(c) scale. Direct medical costs (medical visits, medication, additional tests) and indirect costs (sick-leaves) were assessed from the national health insurance system viewpoint, using public prices and French Social Security tariffs. We checked the comparability of patient population and performed appropriate statistical tests: Chi-Square test for qualitative variables, and Student, Mann-Whitney, Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests for quantitative variables. RESULTS: The "homeopathic drugs" strategy produced significantly better results in terms of medical effectiveness (number of bouts: 2.71 vs 3.97, number of complications: 1.25 vs 1.95) and quality of life (global score: 21.38 vs 30.43), for significantly lower direct medical costs reimbursed by the national health insurance system (88€ vs 99€) and fewer number of sick-leaves (23 vs 60). CONCLUSION: Homeopathic drugs could constitute a cost-effective alternative to antibiotics for treating rhinopharyngitis, and so could provide an answer to public health and economic problems posed by the inappropriate use of these drugs in this disease in France.