The perils of complementary alternative medicine

Area of Science:

• Integrative medicine
• Patient safety
• Medical complications

Background:

• PubMed contains over 11,000 articles on alternative medicine.
• Few studies document the adverse events associated with complementary therapies.
• Patient safety concerns necessitate a review of alternative medicine practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report two cases of severe complications resulting from alternative medicine interventions.
• To emphasize the urgent need for regulatory frameworks for complementary medicine.

Main Methods:

• Case report of two patients treated for complications arising from alternative medicine.
• Review of existing literature on alternative medicine adverse events.

Main Results:

• One patient developed necrotizing fasciitis following acupuncture.
• A second patient experienced an epidural hematoma after chiropractic manipulation.
• These cases represent serious adverse events linked to alternative therapies.

Conclusions:

• Alternative medicine interventions can lead to severe health complications.
• There is a critical need for health ministries to implement inspection and legislative authority over complementary medicine.
• Enhanced regulation is essential to ensure patient safety in alternative medicine.