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PubMed2003

Integrative care--product and process: considering the three T's of timing, type and tuning.

In the biomedical model of care, practitioners are familiar with the focus of service being the product or outcome. Integrative care is an ongoing creative process where patients and health practitioners work together to bring about healing for the patient by carefully choosing and using biomedical and complementary therapies. How complementary and biomedical therapies are united to meet the special needs of the patient is an important part of the process and is often overlooked. The three T's, timing, type, and tuning are parts of the integrative process. Integrative care as a spiritual process must demonstrate not only the masculine qualities of health care such as producing the name of the condition and the remedy. It must also demonstrate the feminine qualities of the process, the "how" of healing.

Complementary Therapies↗
PubMed1992

Emerging forces in cancer care.

The mainstream of scientific research is moving towards increasing recognition of the limits of conventional therapies and cautious optimism about the potential for new biological therapies. This situation has given rise to a social phenomenon among cancer patients. Today, in many parts of the world, a significant minority has chosen to engage actively in the fight for recovery. This minority searches for an intelligent integration of efficacious conventional therapies and complementary therapies involving personal trials of intensive health promotion. These trials cover nutritional, psychological, and immuno-modulating approaches to supporting general health. It appears that 10% among those patients achieve exceptional results, another 10% fail, and 80% become "healthy" cancer patients. While these experiences raise many interesting clinical, scientific and policy questions, they have provided a growing body of evidence that a great deal can be done with behavioural approaches, not in terms of sweeping cures but possibly for some gains in life extension and certainly for great gains in the human experience of being healed (or "becoming whole" with cancer).

Complementary Therapies↗
PubMed2005

Migraine and tension headache--a complementary and alternative medicine approach.

BACKGROUND: Migraine and tension headache are common--affecting up to 10% and 40% of the Australian population respectively--and result in significant reduction in social activities and work capacity for sufferers. OBJECTIVE: This article considers the evidence for the use of a range of complementary therapies and treatment in the prevention and management of both migraine and tension headache. DISCUSSION: Migraine and tension headache can have many precipitating factors. Considering dietary and environmental factors complements a migraine/headache consultation. There is evidence for the role of mind-body approaches, nutritional supplements such as riboflavin and magnesium, and acupuncture in the treatment of headache. By using a holistic approach we may be able to tailor a treatment program that is both effective and safe.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2006

Acupuncture practice, past and present: is it safe and effective?

Acupuncture is a widely used complementary therapy. In cancer treatment its primary use is in treating cancer-related symptoms and side effects induced by conventional therapy. However, the safety of acupuncture practice is often a concern among patients and physicians. A systematic review suggests that acupuncture performed by trained practitioners using clean needle techniques is a generally safe procedure. The medical literature also indicates that acupuncture may be used successfully on cancer patients for symptom management. However, basic scientific studies on the mechanisms of acupuncture and well-designed randomized clinical trials that permit objective evaluation of this ancient science are urgently needed.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2003

Aroma therapy for dementia.

BACKGROUND: Complementary therapies have become more commonly used over the last decade and have been applied to a range of health problems, including dementia. Of these, aroma therapy is reported to be the most widely used in the British National Health Service (Lundie 1994) and might be of use for people with dementia for whom verbal interaction may be difficult and conventional medicine of only marginal benefit. Aroma therapy has been used for people with dementia to reduce disturbed behaviour (e.g. Brooker 1997), promote sleep (e.g. Wolfe 1996), and stimulate motivational behaviour (e.g. MacMahon 1998). OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy of aroma therapy as an intervention for people with dementia. SEARCH STRATEGY: The Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group's Specialized Register was searched on 29 October 2002 to find all relevant trials using the terms: aroma therap*, "aroma therap*", "complementary therap*", "alternative therap*" and "essential oil". The CDCIG Register contains records from all major health care databases and is updated regularly. Additionally, relevant journals were hand searched, and 'experts' in the field of complementary therapies and dementia contacted. SELECTION CRITERIA: All relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were considered. A minimum length of trial and requirements for a follow-up were not included, and participants in included studies had a diagnosis of dementia of any type and severity. The review considered all trials using fragrance from plants defined as aroma therapy as an intervention with people with dementia. Several outcomes were considered in this review, including cognitive function, quality of life, and relaxation. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: The titles and abstracts extracted by the searches were screened for their eligibility for potential inclusion in the review, which revealed 2 RCTs of aroma therapy for dementia. Neither of these had published results in a form that we could use. However, individual patient data from one trial were obtained (Ballard 2002) and additional analyses performed. Analysis of co-variance was used for all outcomes, using a random effects model. MAIN RESULTS: The additional analyses conducted revealed a statistically significant treatment effect in favour of the aroma therapy intervention on measures of agitation and neuropsychiatric symptoms. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: Aroma therapy showed benefit for people with dementia in the only trial that contributed data to this review, but there were several methodological difficulties with this study. More well designed large-scale RCTs are needed before conclusions can be drawn on the effectiveness of aroma therapy. Additionally, several issues need to be addressed, such as whether different aroma therapy interventions are comparable and the possibility that outcomes may vary for different types of dementia.

Aromatherapy↗
PubMed2006

Comprehensive, integrative management of pain for patients with sickle-cell disease.

PURPOSES: The study was conducted to: (1) investigate both pharmacologic and complementary therapies used for pain management by caregivers of children with sickle cell disease (SCD), (2) investigate the prevalence and types of complementary therapies used for pain management by caregivers of children with SCD, and (3) explore caregivers' interests in using complementary therapies in the future. METHODS: A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used. Sixty-three caregivers of children with SCD were asked to complete a questionnaire while they visited a SCD clinic. Chi-square tests were performed to compare demographic variables, examine use of pharmacologic therapies for pain management between age groups, and compare use of pharmacologic and complementary therapies. RESULTS: The most frequently used pain medications for children with SCD (mean age 9 years) were ibuprofen (37.5%), acetaminophen with codeine (32.1%), and acetaminophen with oxycodone (14.5%). More than 70% of 63 caregivers (mean age 33 years) were using some form of complementary therapies (3.67 +/- 2.95, range: 0-9) for their child. The most commonly used therapies were prayer, spiritual healing by others, massage, and relaxation. Complementary therapy use was significantly higher among caregivers of children who were taking two or more analgesics compared to children taking no analgesics or one analgesic (chi (2) = 3.954, p = 0.047). Although no difference was found in nonopioid analgesic use, there was significant difference in opioid analgesic use (chi (2) = 14.736, p = 0.002) and total medication use (chi (2) = 11.025, p = 0.012) between children < or = 12 years and > or =13 years. CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers of children using greater numbers of conventional pain medications were more likely to be using complementary therapies as well. If offered in the future, many caregivers were willing to try various types of complementary therapies for pain management.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Patterns and perceptions of care for treatment of back and neck pain: results of a national survey.

STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a nationally representative random household telephone survey to assess therapies used to treat back or neck pain. OBJECTIVES: The main outcome was complementary therapies used in the last year to treat back or neck pain. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Back pain and neck pain are common medical conditions that cause substantial morbidity. Despite the presumed importance of complementary therapies for these conditions, studies of care for back and neck pain have not gathered information about the use of complementary therapies. METHODS: Our nationally representative survey sampled 2055 adults. The survey gathered detailed information about medical conditions, conventional and complementary therapies used to treat those conditions, and the perceived helpfulness of those therapies. RESULTS: We found that of those reporting back or neck pain in the last 12 months, 37% had seen a conventional provider and 54% had used complementary therapies to treat their condition. Chiropractic, massage, and relaxation techniques were the most commonly used complementary treatments for back or neck pain (20%, 14%, and 12%, respectively, of those with back or neck pain). Chiropractic, massage, and relaxation techniques were rated as "very helpful" for back or neck pain among users (61%, 65%, and 43%, respectively), whereas conventional providers were rated as "very helpful" by 27% of users. We estimate that nearly one-third of all complementary provider visits in 1997 (203 million of 629 million) were made specifically for the treatment of back or neck pain. CONCLUSIONS: Chiropractic, massage, relaxation techniques, and other complementary methods all play an important role in the care of patients with back or neck pain. Treatment for back and neck pain was responsible for a large proportion of all complementary provider visits made in 1997. The frequent use and perceived helpfulness of commonly used complementary methods for these conditions warrant further investigation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Scopolamine for preventing and treating motion sickness.

BACKGROUND: Motion sickness - the discomfort experienced when perceived motion disturbs the organs of balance - may include symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, pallor, cold sweats, hypersalivation, hyperventilation and headaches. The control and prevention of these symptoms have included pharmacological, behavioural and complementary therapies. Although scopolamine has been used in the treatment and prevention of motion sickness for decades, there have been no systematic reviews of its effectiveness. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of scopolamine versus no therapy, placebo, other drugs, behavioural and complementary therapy or two or more of the above therapies in combination for motion sickness in persons (both adults and children) without known vestibular, visual or central nervous system pathology. SEARCH STRATEGY: The Cochrane Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders Group Specialised Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library, Issue 4, 2003), MEDLINE (OVID, 1966 to March Week 1 2004), EMBASE (1974 to 2004) CINAHL (Ovid, 1982 to March Week 1 2004) and reference lists of retrieved studies were searched for relevant studies. No language restrictions were applied. SELECTION CRITERIA: All parallel-arm, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) focusing on scopolamine versus no therapy, placebo, other drugs, behavioural and complementary therapy or two or more of the above therapies in combination were included. Outcomes relating to the prevention of onset or treatment of clinically-defined motion sickness, task ability and psychological tests, changes in physiological parameters and adverse effects were considered. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data from the studies were extracted independently by two authors using standardised forms. Study quality was assessed. Dichotomous data were expressed as odds ratio (OR) and a pooled OR was calculated using the random effects model. MAIN RESULTS: Of 27 studies considered potentially relevant, 12 studies enrolling 901 subjects met the entry criteria. Scopolamine was administered via transdermal patches, tablets or capsules, oral solutions or intravenously. Scopolamine was compared against placebo, calcium channel antagonists, antihistamine, meth-scopolamine or a combination of scopolamine and ephedrine. Studies were generally small in size and of varying quality. Scopolamine was more effective than placebo in the prevention of symptoms. Comparisons between scopolamine and other agents were few and suggested that scopolamine was superior (versus meth-scopolamine) or equivalent (versus antihistamines) as a preventative agent. Evidence comparing scopolamine to cinnarizine or combinations of scopolamine and ephedrine is equivocal or minimal. Although sample sizes were small, scopolamine was no more likely to induce drowsiness, blurring of vision or dizziness compared to other agents. Dry mouth was more likely with scopolamine than with meth-scopolamine or cinnarizine. No studies were available relating to the therapeutic effectiveness of scopolamine in the management of established symptoms of motion sickness. REVIEWERS' CONCLUSIONS: The use of scopolamine versus placebo in preventing motion sickness has been shown to be effective. No conclusions can be made on the comparative effectiveness of scopolamine and other agents such as antihistamines and calcium channel antagonists. In addition, no randomised controlled trials were identified that examined the effectiveness of scopolamine in the treatment of established symptoms of motion sickness.

Humans↗
PubMed2004

Qigong as a therapeutic intervention with older adults.

The use of complementary therapies in the United States is growing. One complementary therapy that has received little attention in the nursing literature is Qigong. Qigong is the cornerstone of traditional Chinese medicine and consists of gentle flowing body movements, breathing, and quieting the mind. Qigong facilitates the movement of qi, the vital life energy, throughout the body, thereby enhancing health and healing disease. Preliminary research indicates that Qigong may be an effective complementary therapy for promoting health and wellness in older adults and an effective adjuvant intervention for managing chronic conditions in older adults. This article provides an overview of Qigong, reviews the English-language research literature on the therapeutic effects of Qigong, discusses the implications of Qigong as a complementary therapy for older adults, and suggests directions for further research on the use of Qigong as a therapeutic approach for older adults.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Commonalities in the central nervous system's involvement with complementary medical therapies: limbic morphinergic processes.

BACKGROUND: Currently, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are experiencing growing popularity, especially in former industrialized countries. However, most of the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms as well as participating biological structures are still speculative. Specific and non-specific effects may play a role in CAM. Moreover, trust, belief, and expectation may be of importance, pointing towards common central nervous system (CNS) pathways involved in CAM. MATERIAL/METHODS: Four CAM approaches (acupuncture, meditation, music therapy, and massage therapy) were examined with regard to the CNS activity pattern involved. CNS commonalities between different approaches were investigated. RESULTS: Frontal/prefrontal and limbic brain structures play a role in CAM. Particularly, left-anterior regions of the brain and reward or motivation circuitry constituents are involved, indicating positive affect and emotion-related memory processing--accompanied by endocrinologic and autonomic functions--as crucial components of CAM effects. Thus, trust and belief in a therapist or positive therapy expectations seem to be important. However, besides common non-specific or subjective effects, specific (objective) physiological components also exist. CONCLUSIONS: Non-specific CNS commonalities are involved in various CAM therapies. Different therapeutic approaches physiologically overlap in the brain. However, molecular correspondents of the detected CNS analogies still have to be specified. In particular, fast acting autoregulatory signaling molecules presumably play a role. These may also be involved in the placebo response.

Acupuncture↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Women's use of complementary medicine. Combining mainstream medicine with alternative practices.

Most female patients use some form of complementary medicine some time in their lives. Complementary medicine provides patients with alternative avenues for finding relief from chronic ailments. Patients also enjoy the more personal and holistic approach of complementary practitioners. Increasingly, schools of medicine are incorporating complementary approaches into their training programs, and third-party reimbursement is now available for some forms of complementary therapies. Research into the safety and efficacy of complementary therapies is in its infancy and therefore it is difficult for mainstream physicians to recommend complementary approaches to their patients. Nonetheless, mainstream physicians who incorporate some of the principles of complementary therapies into the own practices may be rewarded by more positive outcomes in their patients.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed2002

Integrated cancer care: linking medicine and therapies.

Many patients receiving conventional cancer care benefit from complementary therapies. A cancer centre offering complementary therapies tailors them to meet each patient's needs and complement conventional therapies. To integrate care, it was important to gain the trust and cooperation of colleagues in conventional disciplines. This was done by focusing on thorough needs assessments and evaluation to demonstrate the value of the therapies on offer.

Complementary Therapies↗
PubMed1998

A patient's guide to choosing unconventional therapies.

Unconventional therapies (UTs) are therapies not usually provided by Canadian physicians or other conventionally trained health care providers. Examples of common UTs available in Canada are herbal preparations, reflexology, acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. UTs may be used along with conventional therapies (complementary) or instead of conventional therapies (alternative). Surveys have shown that many Canadians use UTs, usually as complementary therapies, for a wide range of diseases and conditions. Reliable information about UTs is often difficult to find. Your doctor may be unable to give you specific advice or recommendations, since UTs are often not in a physician's area of expertise. However, he or she will usually be able to provide some general advice and help supervise your progress. For your own health and safety, it is important to keep your doctor informed of the choices you make. This document is intended to (a) provide you with questions to consider when making your treatment choices, (b) help you find information about UTs, (c) help you decide whether a specific UT is right for you, and (d) provide tips to help you evaluate the information you find.

Canada↗
PubMed1997

Complementary insulin therapy improves blood glucose and serum lipid parameters in type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic patients. II. Effects on serum lipids, lipoproteins and apoproteins.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of complementary insulin therapy, consisting of a single dose of 1 to 8 units of shortacting insulin before each meal (4-6x daily) and sometimes at 02.30 h, on concentrations of serum lipids, lipoproteins and apoproteins in type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic patients, unsatisfactorily controlled either by oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA) or by longacting insulin 1-2x daily (INS 1-2). Compared means +/- SD. Patients on INS 1-2 (n = 82) had better baseline glycemic control than patients on OHA (n = 68) (HbAlc: 9.33 +/- 1.76% vs. 10.59 +/- 1.83%, p < 0.001 and fructosamine: 3.34 +/- 0.74 mmol/l vs. 3.85 +/- 0.84 mmol/l, p < 0.001) and serum triglyceride concentrations (3.03 +/- 2.05 mmol/l vs. 4.95 +/- 4.48 mmol/l, p < 0.001), in spite of longer duration of diabetes (13.35 +/- 8.07 years vs. 10.1 +/- 6.9 years, p < 0.001). After 8-10 weeks of complementary insulin therapy, OHA patients (n = 33) improved both the glycemic control (HbA1c: 10.5 +/- 1.78% vs. 9.0 +/- 1.75%, p < 0.001) and fructosamine: 4.0 +/- 0.85 mmol/l vs. 3.5 +/- 0.76 mmol/l, p < 0.001) and most of the lipid parameters (decreased serum triglyceride: 5.8 +/- 5.64 mmol/l vs. 3.6 +/- 4.69 mmol/l, p < 0.001, total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol: 6.8 +/- 3.13 vs. 5.6 +/- 2.23, p < 0.01 and increased HDL-cholesterol: 1.0 +/- 0.30 mmol/l vs. 1.2 +/- 0.30 mmol/l, p < 0.001, apo AI: 1.6 +/- 0.26 g/l vs. 1.8 +/- 0.28 g/l, p < 0.001, LpAI particles: 0.6 +/- 0.1 g/l vs. 0.7 +/- 0.12 g/l, p < 0.001 and LDL-cholesterol/apo B: 2.1 +/- 0.67 vs. 2.7 +/- 0.67, p < 0.001). In patients previously on INS 1-2x (n = 34), complementary insulin therapy with reduced dose of insulin per day (49.6 +/- 22.5 U/d vs. 36.6 +/- 13.3 U/d, p < 0.001) did not further improve glycemic control but improved the number of proatherogenic and antiatherogenic lipoprotein particles (decreased apo B: 1.7 +/- 0.52 g/l vs. 1.5 +/- 0.94 g/l, p < 0.01, apo AI/Lp AI: 2.9 +/- 1.01 vs. 2.3 +/- 0.98, p < 0.01 and increased Lp AI particles: 0.6 +/- 0.10 g/l vs. 0.7 +/- 0.12 g/l, p < 0.0001); BMI also decreased (29.4 +/- 4.28 kg/m2 vs. 28.9 +/- 4.24 kg/m2, p < 0.05). These results demonstrate that complementary insulin therapy probably induces antiatherogenic lipoprotein changes in NIDDM patients previously treated by either OHA or INS 1-2x. Thus, this type of therapy should be used more often and start earlier, and should be preferred to longacting insulins.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Assessing needs of people with cancer.

The provision of complementary cancer care is a developing field. Recent surveys into the provision of complementary therapies have targeted not only the consumer but also the purchasers and providers of health care. There is interest amongst health authorities regarding the provision of complementary medicine as a cost effective intervention in the management of chronic conditions. There are a number of recent studies which aimed to address this issue. The Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital NHS Trust (RLHH), offers homoeopathy and other complementary therapies to support people living with cancer. A Macmillan Nurse, specialising in Complementary Therapies, was appointed at the RLHH to further develop the program of complementary cancer care. A patient survey performed to assist the development of the program showed that people living with cancer most wanted psychological help from complementary therapies. Since the provision of designated programs of complementary cancer care, expansion in the range of therapies offered has taken place.

Complementary Therapies↗
PubMed1999

Talking with patients about alternative and complementary medicine.

The growing use of alternative and complementary therapies in the United States as well as other parts of the world is a trend that the responsible rheumatologist cannot ignore. With chronic musculoskeletal conditions being the leading indication for the use of alternative and complementary therapies, rheumatologists must become experts on talking to patients and advising them about the use or avoidance of such therapies. Currently, there is a growing body of literature on the safety and efficacy of the multiple alternative and complementary therapies available. Much of this information is reliable and of high methologic quality; however, much of it is not. With an increase in the budget of the Office of Alternative Medicine from $20 to $50 million in 1999 and the status of the office changing to an independent center, an important step has been taken to try to assure improved research in the near future to validate or disprove many of the current alternative and complementary therapies. In the meantime, our patients are using these therapies and are likely to continue to do so, with or without our guidance. We must get beyond the "don't ask, don't tell" approach that characterizes many physicians' attitudes toward the subject of alternative and complementary therapies. Although all discussions need not end in agreement, they are still opportunities for shared decision making and "relationship-centered care." Ultimately, we should not be concerned with practicing what is perceived to be traditional versus alternative and complementary medicine or biomedicine versus naturalistic medicine but only with what is truly "good" medicine.

Communication↗