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At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Use of complementary therapies for arthritis among patients of rheumatologists.

BACKGROUND: Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is common among persons with chronic conditions. OBJECTIVE: To identify correlates of and describe patients' perspective on use of CAM for rheumatologic conditions. DESIGN: Telephone survey. SETTING: Three university practices and three private rheumatology practices. PATIENTS: 232 of 428 eligible consecutive patients (54%) with scheduled appointments. MEASUREMENTS: Patients answered questions on CAM use, functional status, pain, provider satisfaction, and health services utilization. Chart reviews provided demographic information and rheumatologic diagnoses. Bivariate analyses identified correlates of four CAM outcomes (history, magnitude, and frequency of CAM use and communication about CAM use with a physician), and multiple logistic regression identified independent correlates of regular CAM use. RESULTS: Approximately two thirds of the respondents (n = 146) had used CAM. Of these 146 respondents, 82 (56%) currently used CAM and 132 (90%) regularly used CAM or had done so in the past. Fifty-five respondents (24%) had used three or more types of CAM. In multivariate analyses, persons who used CAM regularly were more likely to have osteoarthritis (odds ratio, 5.6 [95% CI, 1.9 to 16.8]), severe pain (odds ratio, 2.5 [CI, 1.4 to 4.8]), and a college degree (odds ratio, 2.6 [CI, 1.3 to 5.4]) than patients who had never used CAM. Nearly half of the respondents discussed CAM use with their physicians. The most common reasons for not disclosing CAM use were that the physician had not asked about it and that the patient forgot to tell the physician; fear of disapproval was rarely cited. Discussions about CAM use between patient and physician occurred more frequently among patients with fibromyalgia and persons who regularly used CAM or used several types of CAM. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with rheumatologic conditions frequently use CAM. Severe pain and osteoarthritis predict regular use of CAM but do not predict a greater likelihood of discussing CAM use with physicians. Routine inquiry by physicians will probably detect CAM use.

Arthralgia↗
PubMed2001

Complementary therapies for cancer patients: what works, what doesn't, and how to know the difference.

Cancer patients, with their multiple symptoms and layers of suffering, are presenting many challenges to the treating physician and are turning to complementary mind-body therapies in increasing numbers. The utilization of mind-body medicine and other complementary therapies is growing at rates faster than Western medicine, and physicians are more commonly being questioned about potential benefits and risks of these therapies. This article discusses hypnosis and mind-body approaches in the care of the cancer patient, and offers suggestions regarding the evaluation of complementary medicine therapies.

Anxiety↗
PubMed2005

Increased risk of asthma attacks and emergency visits among asthma patients with allergic rhinitis: a subgroup analysis of the investigation of montelukast as a partner agent for complementary therapy [corrected].

BACKGROUND: Inadequately controlled allergic rhinitis (AR) in asthmatic patients can contribute towards increased asthma exacerbations and poorer symptom control, which may increase medical resource use. We assessed asthma-related medical resource use and attacks in asthmatic patients who did and did not have concomitant AR and were adding montelukast or salmeterol to baseline treatment with inhaled fluticasone. METHODS: A post hoc resource use analysis of a 52-week, double-blind multicentre clinical trial (Investigation of Montelukast as a Partner Agent for Complementary Therapy) [corrected] including 1490 adults with chronic asthma, aged 15-72 years, with FEV(1) 50-90% of predicted and > or =12% increase in FEV(1) after salbutamol administration, treated with either montelukast 10 mg daily or salmeterol 50 microg twice daily in addition to fluticasone 200 microg, was undertaken. Asthma-related medical resource use included medical visits (defined as either an unscheduled visit [to a general practitioner, a specialist or a non-medical provider] or a specialist visit), emergency room visits and hospitalizations during follow-up. Asthma attacks were defined as the worsening of asthma requiring unscheduled visit, emergency visit, hospitalization or oral/intravenous/intramuscular corticosteroids. RESULTS: A self-reported history of concomitant AR was identified in 60% of the patients (n=893). Univariate analysis suggests that significantly more patients with concomitant AR experienced emergency room visits (3.6% vs. 1.7%, P=0.029) and asthma attacks (21.3% vs. 17.1%, P=0.046). Multivariate analysis adjusting for treatment group, age and baseline asthma severity confirmed these results since the presence of concomitant AR in patients with asthma increases the likelihood of emergency room visit (odds ratio (OR)=2.35, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.12-4.80) and asthma attack (OR=1.35, 95% CI=1.03-1.77). Patients with asthma alone compared with patients with both conditions did not differ in terms of unscheduled or specialist visits and hospitalizations. CONCLUSIONS: Presence of self-reported concomitant AR in patients with asthma resulted in a higher rate of asthma attacks and more emergency room visits compared with asthma patients without concomitant AR.

Acetates↗
PubMed2004

Use of complementary therapies in pregnancy: the perceptions of obstetricians and midwives in South Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To examine South Australian obstetricians and midwives attitude's towards the use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) during pregnancy, to examine their referral patterns and their views on the usefulness and safety of these therapies during pregnancy. DESIGN: All members of the South Australian branch of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a 50% sample of midwives belonging to the South Australian Branch of The Australian College of Midwives, were sent a postal self-completion questionnaire. RESULTS: A response rate of 78% was obtained. Only 14% of doctors considered CAM was a threat to public health. Over 90% of midwives and obstetricians thought they should have some knowledge about CAM. A greater proportion of obstetricians (72%) held a view there needs to be an evidence base for CAM compared with 26% of midwives. The majority of obstetricians (68%) and midwives (78%) had formally referred a patient for use of one of the complementary therapies. Over 70% of obstetricians and midwives considered massage, acupuncture, vitamins, yoga, meditation and hypnosis to be useful and safe to use during pregnancy. CONCLUSION: The majority of clinician's held positive views towards CAM and considered some complementary therapies to be useful and safe for use during pregnancy. Limited evidence exists on the safety and efficacy of these therapies and attention needs to be given to undertaking high quality randomised controlled trials.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2001

Acupuncture as complementary therapy for back pain.

Back pain affects more than 9 million people in the United States and accounts for 25% of disability in all work-related injuries. It has a lifetime prevalence of 60%-90% and it costs more than $50 billion annually to manage back pain. The incidence of back pain in nurses is over 80% and accounts for more than 150 million working days per year being lost. Western treatment of back pain is controversial and often ineffective. Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is practiced widely in the United States. Research has demonstrated that acupuncture may benefit those who suffer from back pain when they have failed to respond to previous treatment by drugs, bed rest, epidural injection, physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractics, and surgery. Acupuncture is a powerful and complementary therapy for back pain.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed1993

A complementary therapy approach to the management of individual stress among student nurses.

This paper examines the difference between qualitative and quantitative research approaches and applies the debate to assessing student nurses' stress coping styles. In particular, it looks at the value of the qualitative approach as a means of appreciating the individual nature of the stress experience. A pilot study was conducted among a small group of Project 2000 students. The results illustrate that a flexible model which appreciates the differences in individual perception is a successful way of enabling students to handle negative stress. The paper also reports on a new concept called Determination and the Hypnotic Interaction model which enables student nurses to utilize determined experiences from previous times and apply them to present and future negative stress. The model utilizes a wide range of complementary therapy approaches including relaxation, imagery and hypnosis, to enable students to appreciate positive stress and to discover and use their natural resources of determination to deal with negative stress.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Use of alternative and complementary therapies in children with cancer.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) is becoming increasingly popular. Although considered beneficial by users, the potential for interaction or substitution with conventional treatment should not be overlooked by health care professionals. It is therefore important to gain insight into the prevalence and the factors related to the use of CAM. To establish the prevalence of use of CAM among children with cancer treated in a large pediatric hospital, describe the profile of use and factors related with use. As a secondary objective we aimed at measuring quality of life of the children aged 5 or more and compare the scores between users and non-users. METHODS: The study is a cross-sectional survey of parents whose child was treated at the oncology clinic or ward of Sainte-Justine Hospital, a large pediatric hospital in Montreal. Data on socio-demographic variables, the use of CAM and the quality of life was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Quality of life was measured with the Child Health Questionnaire CHQ-PF50, while clinical data was collected from medical records. RESULTS: A total of 115 patients were recruited and 92 parents completed and returned the questionnaire, resulting in a 80% response rate. According to this survey, 49% of the children used at least one type of CAM and 20% used herbal remedies/homeopathy/vitamins in the 2 months preceding the survey. Most popular CAM were spiritual/mental and physical strategies used by 35 and 33% of children under study, respectively. Only one parent reported having delayed a conventional treatment because of CAM. Although quality of life results must be interpreted with caution, they tend to favor non-users. CONCLUSIONS: CAM is likely to be used by a wide variety of people. In our study, we found that about half of the children with cancer has used CAM in the 2 preceding months. No specific profile of CAM users emerged from this study. The high prevalence of CAM warrants further studies to better understand the reasons and consequences of CAM use particularly on quality of life.

Adolescent↗