Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in paediatric rheumatology: a European perspective

To analyse the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in children with rheumatic diseases, treated at a paediatric rheumatology centre in Italy.

Parents of children with different kinds of chronic rheumatic diseases anonymously completed a questionnaire about their children's past or current use of CAM. Two groups of patients were analysed: Group A consisted of children who were still attending the centre; Group B consisted of children who had not attended the clinic for more than one year.

150 completed surveys were analysed: 22 paediatric patients (14.7%), 10/100 in group A and 12/50 in group B, used CAM to treat their diseases. The therapies used the most were homeopathy, herbal remedies, vitamins and minerals. We observed a significantly greater use of CAM among patients who had not attended the clinic for more than one year (24%) as compared to those who were regularly checked (10%) (p=0.02). Parents' use of CAM was significantly related to its use for their children (p=0.001). A poor outcome, probably related to the exclusive use of alternative treatments, was observed in three out of six patients who had completely stopped using traditional immunosuppressive drugs.

Physicians should be aware of the use of CAM particularly in patients who skip their regular check-ups. The use of CAM to treat childhood rheumatic conditions in Italy seems to be less frequent than in North America.