Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2000
Meta AnalysisComplementary and alternative medicine in the management of pain, dyspnea, and nausea and vomiting near the end of life. A systematic review.
To review the evidence for efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities in treating pain, dyspnea, and nausea and vomiting in patients near the end of life, original articles were evaluated following a search through MEDLINE, CancerLIT, AIDSLINE, PsycLIT, CINAHL, and Social Work Abstracts databases. Search terms included alternative medicine, palliative care, pain, dyspnea, and nausea. Two independent reviewers extracted data, including study design, subjects, sample size, age, response rate, CAM modality, and outcomes. ⋯ Because of publication bias, trials on CAM modalities may not be found on routine literature searches. Despite the paucity of controlled trials, there are data to support the use of some CAM modalities in terminally ill patients. This review generated evidence-based recommendations and identified areas for future research.