RESEARCH · September 24, 2014
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A survey found significant use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by patients in two California clinics (a family practice clinic and a dermatology clinic). CAM use for skin conditions (reported by 13.4% of patients) was not significantly different between the two clinics (in contrast, 39.2% reported using CAM for non–skin related conditions). The treatments were used more frequently for chronic conditions such as eczema and acne than for acute conditions, and herbal medications were the most common. The survey respondents were primarily white, which may lower prevalence rates compared with studies of broader populations.
Patients commonly use CAM to treat skin conditions. Physicians should consider possible therapeutic effects, interactions, and side effects of CAM in their patients.
– Joshua Arbesman, MD
ABSTRACT
Previous studies suggest that people with skin diseases use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM); however, it is not known whether CAM was used specifically to treat their skin disease. We conducted a survey to determine differences in CAM use for skin diseases between patients attending dermatology clinics and those attending primary care clinics.
JAMA dermatology (Chicago, Ill.)
Comparative Prevalence of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Outpatients in Dermatology and Primary Care Clinics
JAMA Dermatol 2014 Sep 24;[EPub Ahead of Print], RK Sivamani, JE Morley, B Rehal, AW Armstrong