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Important to ask parents about CAM use in pediatric patients
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The rate of complementary and alternative medicine use is high among pediatric specialty clinic outpatients, according to findings in a recently published Canadian study.
Sunita Vohra, MD, of the department of pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and School of Public Health, University of Alberta, and colleagues reported data from 926 family surveys conducted at pediatric subspecialty clinics in Edmonton and Ottawa. The mean age of the children in the surveys was 8.8 years and included slightly more girls than boys, according to the study findings.
Sunita Vohra
Vohra and colleagues found that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use was highest among pediatric cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology, oncology and respiratory patients. Most of these patients used CAM concurrently with conventional care.
The researchers said CAM use differed greatly between the hospitals, with CAM use at the western hospital at 71% vs. 42% at the central hospital.
“Concurrent use of CAM and prescription medications is widespread and poses a potential risk to patients who may be unaware of the potential for interactions,” the researchers wrote, adding that combined with a lack of disclosure, use of such medications poses a potential hazard for patients.
Eighty adverse effects were reported, and 55 (68.8%) of these were self-assessed as minor. The researchers reported that herbal products, vitamins and homeopathic remedies were the most commonly reported products taken; relaxation, massage and chiropractic were the most common complementary medicine practices.
“The research team urges families and health care providers to discuss complementary and alternative use at every visit,” Vohra told Infectious Diseases in Children. “Optimal patient care requires full disclosure and a coordinated care plan that takes into account best available evidence and the patient's health care preferences.”
Disclosure: Vohra reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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