Complementary therapies in medicine
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To examine the rate of utilization of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Amish women, a population that traditionally uses non-mainstream medicine. ⋯ This survey highlights the need to address potential adverse effects of herbal therapies in young women who are a member of a group that may use non-mainstream medicine.
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Complement Ther Med · Dec 2001
ReviewClinical trials of acupuncture: consensus recommendations for optimal treatment, sham controls and blinding.
Evidence of effectiveness is increasingly used to determine which health technologies are incorporated into public health provision. Acupuncture is a popular therapy that has been shown to be superior to placebo in the treatment of nausea and dental pain, and promising for migraine and osteoarthritis of the knee. For many other conditions, such as chronic pain, in which acupuncture is often used, the evidence is either insufficient or negative. ⋯ Patient blinding in acupuncture studies can be achieved by sham procedures and its success should be measured. While practitioner blinding is difficult, though not impossible, blinding of the observer and the analyst should be considered as the ideal for all studies. A number of recommendations are made which aim to improve the quality of sham-controlled acupuncture studies.
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Complement Ther Med · Sep 2001
How traditional Chinese medicine acupuncturists would diagnose and treat chronic low back pain: results of a survey of licensed acupuncturists in Washington State.
This survey was undertaken to learn how Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncturists' diagnose and treat patients with chronic low back pain in order to develop a standardized treatment for a clinical trial of that condition. ⋯ The use of practitioner surveys can enhance the systematic development of acupuncture treatment protocols and should be part of this process in future clinical trials of common conditions.
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Complement Ther Med · Sep 2001
Variation in diagnosis and treatment of chronic low back pain by traditional Chinese medicine acupuncturists.
To assess interrater reliability of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnosis and treatment of chronic low back pain. ⋯ TCM diagnoses and treatment recommendations for specific patients with chronic low back pain vary widely across practitioners. Acupuncture clinical trials using an individualized treatment arm may be difficult to replicate or evaluate because of low concordance among acupuncturists. Comparison of individualized treatment with a thoughtfully developed standardized approach is warranted to determine which, if either, is superior.
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Complement Ther Med · Sep 2001
Which complementary and alternative therapies benefit which conditions? A survey of the opinions of 223 professional organizations.
With the increasing demand and usage of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) by the general public, it is vital that healthcare professionals can make informed decisions when advising or referring their patients who wish to use CAM. Therefore they might benefit from advice by CAM-providers as to which treatment can be recommended for which condition. ⋯ The recommendations by CAM organizations responding to this survey may provide guidance to health care professionals wishing to advise or refer patients interested in using CAM.