Alternative Medicine In Children Research Articles

Complementary and alternative medicine in children with inflammatory bowel disease

Complementary and alternative medicine in children with inflammatory bowel disease

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Children with Neuromuscular Disorders Followed at Penn State Health Pediatric Muscular Dystrophy Association Care Center Clinic.

The exact prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is not known in pediatric patients with neuromuscular diseases followed by any of the 150 Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Care Center Clinics nationwide. This study describes the prevalence and variety of CAM usage in this population, while also assessing the prevalence of caregiver disclosure of CAM use and caregiver perception of provider support for CAM. Fifty-two caregivers of pediatric patients seen at Penn State Health's Pediatric MDA Care Center Clinic completed our online survey. Overall, 19.2% of caregivers reported CAM use by their child. Less than half of caregivers reported discussing CAM use with their child's neurologist (41.5%); however, a majority of respondents reported interest in using CAM for their child in the future (52.8%). Understanding the prevalence of CAM usage and disclosure in pediatric MDA clinics may facilitate safer use of CAM in this community.

Use of Integrative, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine in Children with Epilepsy: A Global Scoping Review.

(1) Background: Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological disorders in childhood. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is highly prevalent in patients with epilepsy. Despite CAM's widespread and increasing popularity, its prevalence, forms, perceived benefits, and potential risks in pediatric epilepsy are rarely explored. (2) Methods: We performed a scoping review of the available literature on the use of CAM in pediatric epilepsy. (3) Results: Overall, global cross-sectional studies showed a variable degree of CAM usage among children with epilepsy, ranging from 13 to 44% in prevalence. Popular types of CAMs reported were supplements, cannabis products, aromatherapy, herbal remedies, dietary therapy, massage therapy, and prayer. Families often report that CAM is effective, although there are limited objective measures of this. Potential risks lie in the use of CAM, such as herbal remedies, and/or unregulated, contaminated, or unpurified products. Studies also underscored inadequate patient-physician discussions regarding CAM. (4) Conclusions: A better understanding of this topic would aid clinicians in guiding patients/families on the use of CAM. Further studies on the efficacy of the different types of CAM used, as well as potential side effects and drug interactions are needed.

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Children with Scabies

Introduction: Scabies is a highly contagious infestation that is becoming increasingly resistant to treatment. The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has gradually increased for numerous diseases, and the aim of this study is to investigate the parental use of CAM in the treatment of scabies. Methods: The study was planned as a cross-sectional study involving children who came to the departments of child health and diseases and dermatology departments for any reason and were diagnosed with scabies. Questionnaires were given to parents by physicians during face-to-face interviews, and responses were recorded. Results: 75.9% of the 162 parents participating in the study were mothers, and 40% of the parents reported that their income was below expenses. The mean number of people living in the household was 4 (min 3–max 13), and the proportion of extended family was 34%. The mean duration of symptoms in patients with scabies was 4.8 ± 3.92 weeks (min. 1–max. 27), and scabies was diagnosed on average at the second visit to the doctor. CAM was used by 80.9% of parents for children with scabies. They most commonly used tea tree oil for itching and ice for the rash. Parents working in education and health care were less likely to use CAM (p < 0.001), while more than 90% of housewives used at least one CAM method on their children. Analysis showed that 61.7% of female users had benefited from CAM. Significant differences between parents who used CAM and those who did not were found in education (p = 0.003), monthly income (p = 0.023), number of children (p = 0.022), and living in large families (p = 0.001). The use of CAM was six times higher in parents in large families (OR: 6.143, 95% CI 0.776–21.252). Conclusions: With regard to the treatment of scabies, it is important to strengthen the education of health professionals at all levels, put the treatment of patients on a regular basis, explain the conditions that require special attention, and monitor patients closely. New treatment protocols must also be developed for refractory scabies, including alternative therapies.

Osteosarcoma and alternative medicine in children

Osteosarcoma and alternative medicine in children

Complementary and alternative medicine in children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma-A SIOPE DIPG Network and Registry study.

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a rare and aggressive childhood brainstem malignancy with a 2-year survival rate of <10%. This international survey study aims to evaluate the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in this patient population. Parents and physicians of patients with DIPG were asked to participate in a retrospective online survey regarding CAM use during time of illness. Between January and May 2020, 120 parents and 75 physicians contributed to the online survey. Most physicians estimated that <50% of their patients used CAM, whereas 69% of the parents reported using CAM to treat their child during time of illness. Cannabis was the most frequently used form of CAM, followed by vitamins and minerals, melatonin, curcumin, and boswellic acid. CAM was mainly used with the intention of direct antitumor effect. Other motivations were to treat side effects of chemotherapy or to increase comfort of the child. Children diagnosed from 2016 onwards were more likely to use CAM (χ2 =6.08, p=.014). No significant difference was found between CAM users and nonusers based on ethnicity (χ2 =4.18, p=.382) or country of residence (χ2 =9.37, p=.154). Almost 50% of the physicians do not frequently ask their patients about possible CAM use. This survey demonstrates that worldwide, a considerable number of patients with DIPG use CAM. Physicians should be more aware of potential CAM use and actively discuss the topic. In addition, more research is needed to gain knowledge about possible anticancer effects of CAM and (positive/negative) interactions with conventional therapies.

The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Children Followed by Asthma Diagnosis and Attitudes of Families

The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Children Followed by Asthma Diagnosis and Attitudes of Families

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Children with Sickle Cell Disease: Prevalence and Factors Associated with Use

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common hematologic disorders in the world. In the United States, it is the single most common genetic hematologic disorder. The burden of SCD and its complications on pediatric patients is tremendous, especially acute vaso-occlusive pain crises. Although allopathic medicine has provided numerous pain medications to treat this, they do not come without side effects and are not always effective. This review explores complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) methods of pain management available for pediatric SCD patients. A PubMed literature search was conducted, and the reference lists of shortlisted studies and review articles were screened after application of the exclusion criteria; 14 articles were used in this literature analysis. A wide range of CAM therapies exist. Common ones include praying, spirituality, and massage. Factors associated with CAM use are parental use of CAM, gender, SCD/pain severity, patient’s age, caregiver’s education level, and in some cases, financial means to access CAM methods. CAM has shown to be effective in reducing pain, patients’ depression and anxiety, analgesic use, and in increasing daily functioning. Thus, CAM has demonstrated potential in reducing pain and improving the quality of life of pediatric SCD patients. It holds great promise to be regularly encouraged by providers and employed by patients. Further research is needed on a larger scale to better study its efficacy; however, CAM use has repeatedly been associated with improved functioning and pain control.

Letter from the Editors

Since it was established in 2014, the International Journal of Integrative Pediatrics and Environmental Medicine (IJIPEM) has strongly adhered to publishing ethics, followed a double-blind review process, and published high-quality papers. Our outstanding linguistic service has assisted many grateful authors for whom English is a second language.&#x0D; Last year was a hard year for everyone, but particularly for the first-line medical care providers. We have given priority to SARS-CoV-2-related manuscripts and published them for free, thereby contributing to our universal knowledge of this new disease. One of the most interesting papers was "Pregnancy and COVID-19, a brief review", one of the first articles published on the topic. Another paper, "The new face of Medicine – care flow strategies developed during COVID" by Dr. Sharon Jacob, addressed how to adjust clinic schedules during this unexpected Global disaster.&#x0D; We also published rare and interesting cases related to the journal's scope, which is focused on the interactions between children and their physical and psychological environment. We want to remind you that the journal topics center on modifiable factors, such as environmental pollution, child-parent relationships, social circumstances, quality of life of the sick child, ill-child school performance, mental health, and sensitivity to environmental factors. Topics concerning integrating conventional pediatrics with complementary and alternative medicine for children and research about environmental impacts on cellular and molecular mechanisms of development are of great interest. We will continue giving priority to manuscripts related to the impact of SARS-CoV-2.&#x0D; We are hopeful that the new year will be very fruitful for our goal of increased scientific knowledge and distribution of these discoveries. We are looking forward to reading, reviewing, and publishing your work. We will also see that it is preserved and recorded with DOI links and advertised widely. Manuscripts funded by NIH or their partners will be indexed as PubMed selected citations. We hope you will enjoy working with our editorial team.&#x0D; If you are reading this letter, you may well already be familiar with IIPEM. If you are interested in working with us, please, register as an author on the web at https://ijipem.com/index.php/ijipem/login. We will put our talents to work to make your paper readable and visible.

Mothers’ Attitudes toward the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Children with Cancer

Background: Children who have cancer suffer from a wide range of symptoms and side-effects of disease and treatment, and such conditions have harmful effects on the quality of life of a child and family. So, the families of such children turn to complementary and alternative medicine treatments for children with cancer. Objectives: Therefore, this study aimed at determining the mothers’ attitudes toward the use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with cancer. Methods: This cross-sectional research was conducted from January 2018 to January 2019 in the oncology section of Yazd Shahid Sadooghi Hospital in a nonrandom and convenience sampling method on 150 mothers of children with cancer. The instruments of data collection include demographic information questionnaires and a 6-part questionnaire to evaluate mothers’ performance. To investigate the face and content validity of the questionnaire, the opinions of 10 experts were considered, and to investigate the reliability of the questionnaire, the test-retest method was used, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was reportedly 0.80. After completing the questionnaires, the collected data were analyzed, using SPSS 23 by utilizing descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation (SD), frequency, and percent. Results: Overall, 83.34% of mothers mentioned praying as a way of complementary and alternative medicine, 67.34% used complementary and alternative medicine to increase child recovery chance, 74% reported general child recovery, 20% reported the occurrence of side-effects following the use of complementary and alternative medicine, 67.33% introduced their friends as their information source, 33.6% avoided informing the physician regarding the use of complementary and alternative medicine, and 76% maintained that due to the objection of physicians, they avoided informing him/her. Conclusions: The use of complementary and alternative medicine is common among mothers but due to the occurrence of side-effects, using invalid information sources and hiding it from a physician, the oncologists must provide a suitable opportunity for asking and answering to guide mothers for correct performance in the use of complementary and alternative medicine.

Inhaled corticosteroid beliefs, complementary and alternative medicine in children presenting to the emergency department for asthma

Objective Negative beliefs about inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and endorsement of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) have been associated with medication non-adherence and uncontrolled asthma. The association of CAM and negative health beliefs is not described in children in acute care settings. Our study objective is to determine the relationship between negative ICS beliefs, CAM use and poorly controlled asthma among a predominantly Latino population in an acute care setting. Methods The study was conducted in the pediatric emergency department of a children’s hospital. During an ED asthma encounter, validated questionnaires surveyed parents about negative ICS beliefs, CAM use, and asthma health and control. We compared asthma health reports between parents who did or did not endorse negative ICS beliefs or CAM use, by chi-squared test (or a Fisher’s exact test where appropriate) Results Parents of 174 children identified mostly as Latino with Medicaid insurance and high asthma morbidity. CAM endorsement and negative ICS beliefs were both associated with increased use of lifetime glucocorticoid (p = 0.03 and p=0.01 respectively). While CAM endorsement was associated with less hospitalizations (p = 0.04) and parental report of asthma “getting better” (p = 0.01), CAM users reported trouble with paying for rent or food (p = 0.02). Negative ICS beliefs and CAM endorsement were not associated with medication adherence. Conclusions Negative ICS beliefs are associated with higher number of oral glucocorticoid courses. The association between CAM endorsement and asthma control is varied, but mostly in favor of improved control. Financial difficulties may make CAM use more likely.

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Children With Tourette Syndrome.

Tourette syndrome is a neuropsychiatric condition defined by motor and phonic tics with onset in childhood. Many families have concerns regarding potential side effects of pharmacologic treatments, and often have difficulty accessing comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics. Patients and caregivers may turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as they perceive these as "natural" and therefore "safe." Although there are anecdotal reports of an increased use of CAM in Tourette syndrome patients, the exact prevalence is unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify commonly used CAM therapies for children with Tourette syndrome at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. A questionnaire was administered to the caregivers of children (<18 years old) via telephone. The data pertaining to demographics, type of CAM use, duration of use, adverse effects, and caregiver's perception of the effectiveness were collected. A total of 110 patients participated in this survey. When inquired about the different CAM methods, 69.1% of the participants reported using 1 or more CAM therapies, and 58% of those who used CAM informed the doctor about their use. Ninety-three percent of those who used CAM therapy reported a decrease in tic frequency. The most commonly used CAM therapies were stress management (44.6%), herbal medicine (18.2%), homeopathy (12.7%), and meditation (9.1%). In total, 46% of the participants said that CAM helped more than medication. The majority of patients interviewed were using CAM therapies, and a significant portion reported benefit greater than medication. More than half of all participants discussed CAM therapies with their physicians, and 63% of participants felt that their physicians would support their use of CAM therapies.

The use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with atopic eczema at a tertiary care centre in Malaysia

ObjectiveGlobally, the use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) for children with atopic eczema (AE) is gaining popularity. At present, information on the pattern of CAM use in Malaysia among children with AE is limited. This study aimed to investigate the pattern of CAM use in children with AE and factors associated with its use. MethodsThis was a cross-sectional survey conducted at a tertiary care centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia among parents of children with AE aged ≤ 12 years using validated questionnaires including Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ-General) and Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) scale. ResultsIn total, 173 parents were recruited. The prevalence of CAM use over the last 12-month period was 46.8 %. The most commonly used CAM was Ruqyah (Islamic prayer), followed by Malay herbs, virgin coconut oil, nutritional therapy and homeopathy. AE severity from parental perspective was the major predictor of CAM use based on multiple logistic regression analysis. Parents of children with ‘clear or almost clear’ (adjusted OR 0.06; 95 % CI 0.01-0.54; p = 0.012) and ‘mild’ (adjusted OR 0.15; 95 % CI 0.03-0.85; p = 0.032) eczema were less likely to use CAM than those with ‘very severe eczema’. Conclusion: CAM use was prevalent among children with AE. Its use was significantly associated with AE severity from a parental perspective. Healthcare providers may need to enquire parents about CAM use for their child during routine clinic appointment.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with ADHD: Results from the 2012 and 2017 National Health Interview Survey

ObjectiveTo examine the prevalence, patterns, and factors associated with CAM use among children with ADHD. MethodWe used data from the 2012 and 2017 National Health Interview Survey. Descriptive statistics, Wald F chi-square test, and multivariable logistic regression were performed. ResultsApproximately 8.4 % of U.S. children had ADHD in 2017. Children with ADHD had greater CAM use than those without (p < 0.05). Meditation (10.8 %), yoga (9.6 %), and deep breathing (7.3 %) were the most commonly used mind-body CAM modalities in ADHD children in 2017, with their use increased 468 %, 433 %, and 192 %, respectively, since 2012. Nearly all children experiencing ADHD (91.9 %) have comorbid psychiatric disorders, and they are more likely to use CAM than those without comorbidities (p < .0001). Less than one-third of the respondents disclosed children’s CAM use to their medical doctors. Among children with ADHD, CAM use is generally not correlated with conventional medical care use, except for a significant inverse relationship between CAM use and use of prescription medication for more than three months. ConclusionThe use of mind-body CAM modalities has substantially increased among children with ADHD, compared to those without ADHD, from 2012 to 2017. Parents' reasons for the use of CAM among their children with ADHD included their unique function in reducing ADHD symptoms and their lack of unwanted side-effects. It is imperative to improve effective communication between health care providers and ADHD patients and their parents, in order to understand patients’ values and preferences for using CAM therapies as a natural holistic therapy for ADHD.

Position statement from the Spanish Association of Paediatrics Medicines Committee concerning the use of alternative medicine and pseudo-science in children

Currently, there are some therapies that are being practiced without adjusting to the available scientific evidence. The terminology is confusing, encompassing terms such as “alternative medicine”, “natural medicine”, “complementary medicine”, “pseudoscience” or “pseudo-therapies”. The Medicines Committee of the Spanish Association of Paediatrics considers that no health professional should recommend treatments not supported by scientific evidence. Also, diagnostic and therapeutic actions should be always based on protocols and clinical practice guidelines. Health authorities and judicial system should regulate and regularise the use of alternative medicines in children, warning parents and prescribers of possible sanctions in those cases in which the clinical evolution is not satisfactory, furthermore responsibilities are required for the practice of traditional medicine, for health professionals who act without complying with the “lex artis ad hoc”, and for the parents who do not fulfil their duties of custody and protection. In addition, it considers that, as already has happened, Professional Associations should also sanction, or at least reprobate or correct, those health professionals who, under a scientific recognition obtained by a university degree, promote the use of therapies far from the scientific method and current evidence, especially in those cases in which it is recommended to replace conventional treatment with pseudo-therapy, and in any case if said substitution leads to a clinical worsening that could have been avoided.

Safety of complementary and alternative medicine in children: A 16-years retrospective analysis of the Italian Phytovigilance system database

BackgroundDietary supplements and homeopathic medicines are largely used in children as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to treat different health conditions. Safety of CAM is unknown when they are marketed. This study analysed suspected CAM-related adverse reaction (AR) in pediatric population. MethodsThe Italian Phytovigilance system was searched for reports of suspected AR related to CAM use in children (0–18 years) from 2002 to 2018. AR reports were evaluated and information about patient's demographic characteristics, suspected CAM, conventional medications, and ARs were collected. In particular, we evaluated whether patient's and CAM characteristics, and concomitant drugs could be potential predictors of ARs seriousness. ResultsWe evaluated 206 pediatric CAM-related AR reports, of which 69 were serious. Patients were mostly treated with only one CAM (n = 193), and 39% of AR reports were related to products containing 2–5 components. Most reported ARs were related to dietary supplements (57.18%), and skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders (40.29%) were the most involved System Organ Class. CAM-related AR reported as serious were higher in subjects exposed to homeopathic medicines (ROR 3.13 [1.88–5.22]), to CAM in presence of concomitant medications (ROR 1.77 [1.01–3.10]), to CAM containing 2–4 components (ROR 2.18 [1.13–4.22]), and to more than three concomitant CAM (ROR 7.81 [1.97–32.69]). ConclusionWe provide new insights on factors that might increase the risk of serious AR associated with CAM use in children: products containing more than two components and simultaneously administered with conventional medications can represent a potential risk in children.

Willingness to try and lifetime use of complementary and alternative medicine in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder in Germany: A survey of parents.

Regardless of their limited evidence and potential adverse effects, use of complementary and alternative medicine is common in children with autism spectrum disorder. Nevertheless, data on complementary and alternative medicine use in children with autism spectrum disorder in Germany are lacking. Therefore, a questionnaire survey on the use of complementary and alternative medicine was distributed to parents of children with autism spectrum disorder from three academic autism spectrum disorder outpatient clinics in Germany. Of 211 respondents, 46% stated that their child currently used or had ever used some form of complementary and alternative medicine in their life. The complementary and alternative medicine modalities most frequently used were manipulative and body-based methods (e.g. craniosacral therapy). And 18% of caregivers expressed willingness to try complementary and alternative medicine treatments for their child with autism spectrum disorder in the future, with mind-body interventions predominating. Health professionals should be aware of the considerable complementary and alternative medicine use prevalence among children with autism spectrum disorder and offer parents information about its effectiveness and potential side effects.

The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

The use of complementary and alternative medicine has been increasing in recent years. Complementary and alternative medicine in pediatrics are generally used in children with chronic illness/disabilities. Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus is also one of these chronic diseases. In this study, information on the use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus was presented using scientific evidences. An literature search using the key words, “complementary”, “alternative”, “complementary and alternative medicine”, “integrative medicine”, “children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus” was performed by internet search in November-December, 2017 using Google Scholar, Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, Web of Science. Researches between 2007-2017 have been included. Descriptive, cross-sectional, randomized controlled, double blind placebo controlled between 2007-2017; child and parent based studies have been examined and 13 studies have been included in the study. Although the studies on the use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus are limited, their use varies between 18% and 56%, their use is affected by sociodemographic characteristics of the children and their parents. It is observed that the most used complementary and alternative medicine in children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus are herbal therapies, vitamins/minerals, nutritional/dietary supplements, prayer/spirutual practices, homeopathy and acupuncture. Studies have shown in children that these treatments are not particularly effective at HbA1c levels, that there is limited evidence of benefit-injury assessment, and that children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus require further evidence-based clinical trials.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review.

Despite limited evidence, complementary and alternative medicine treatments are popular in autism spectrum disorder. The aim of this review was to summarize the available evidence on complementary and alternative medicine use frequency in autism spectrum disorder. A systematic search of three electronic databases was performed. All research studies in English or German reporting data on the frequency of complementary and alternative medicine use in individuals with autism spectrum disorder were included. Two independent reviewers searched the literature, extracted information on study design and results, and assessed study quality using an established quality assessment tool. Twenty studies with a total of 9540 participants were included. The prevalence of any complementary and alternative medicine use ranged from 28% to 95% (median: 54%). Special diets or dietary supplements (including vitamins) were the most frequent complementary and alternative medicine treatments, ranking first in 75% of studies. There was some evidence for a higher prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine use in autism spectrum disorder compared to other psychiatric disorders and the general population. Approximately half of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder use complementary and alternative medicine. Doctors should be aware of this and should discuss complementary and alternative medicine use with patients and their carers, especially as the evidence is mixed and some complementary and alternative medicine treatments are potentially harmful.

The use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with common neurologic diseases.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a phrase used to describe additional health care methods such as mind/body practices and natural products not regarded as treatments by conventional medicine. The use of CAM in children with common neurologic diseases is more frequent than its use in healthy children (24%–78% vs. 12%). However, less than half of patients report such use to their physicians. The preferred modalities of CAM vary in different countries due to their different cultures and traditions. The most common factor significantly associated with the use of CAM is parental CAM use in most studies. The frequency of the use of CAM in children and adults with neurologic diseases is similar, and both rates are higher than the rates in those without these conditions. The preferred modalities of CAM in adults are diverse, and megavitamins and mind/body therapy (prayer and chiropractic care) are included. The most common factor significantly associated with the use of CAM in adults with neurologic diseases is high educational level. Physicians need to be concerned with patients' use of CAM and provide correct information about CAM so that patients may make the right decisions. Further study is needed to determine the evidence-based efficacy of CAM use in children with common neurologic diseases.