Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2004; 9: 51
This study was designed to survey the prevalence of CAM use among Korean stroke rehabilitation patients.
A 44-question survey on stroke was used, including questions on demographic and clinical information (17 questions) and the utilisation of CAM (27 questions).
Of 122 respondents, 122 (100%) had used CAM therapies. At the suggestion of family members and relatives, 45% of respondents started taking CAM products. Of the 49% of users who felt that CAM was effective, 22% considered that it was effective on muscle weakness and paralysis and 10% felt it was effective in gait disorder. Of the nine CAM categories used by respondents, 16.4% were manual therapies, 15.6% were mind–body therapies and 14.2% were herbal medicine. The majority of respondents (108, 88.5%) did not experience any adverse effects of CAM, while nine (7.4%) did. Seventy-nine (64.8%) of all patients were trying CAM after consulting with their physicians.
Doctors should recognise that complementary medicines are widely used by stroke rehabilitation patients and should appreciate that these medicines can cause adverse effects. Doctors should therefore be prepared to question patients to determine what non-conventional medicines they are using.
This study was supported by grants of the Oriental Medicine R&D projects (03-PJ9-PG6-SO02-0001), Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea.
