title: Integrative Medicine Preferences Among Coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever) Patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To understand the extent and modalities of integrative medicine strategies that patients with coccidioidomycosis (valley fever) have incorporated into their treatment regimens.
  
  
  METHODS
  A direct patient survey was distributed, with 100 unique responses, at a single infectious diseases clinic at an academic medical center in Arizona. Eligible patients, defined as those with confirmed coccidioidomycosis or currently under evaluation, were polled on their personal use of 36 integrative medicine modalities. Patients were also asked to indicate their level of fatigue on a 10-point scale in an attempt to correlate levels of fatigue to use of specific integrative medicine modalities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the patients surveyed, 64% had used at least one integrative medicine modality, and 53% used two or more, along with conventional medical therapy. The top three modalities were nutrition (39%), massage (27%), and breathing exercises (26%). The mean reported fatigue level was 4.7 on a 10-point scale, with a standard deviation of 3.0. There was no statistically significant association between use of a specific modality and reported level of fatigue.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nearly two thirds of patients (64%) surveyed had used at least one integrative medicine modality throughout the course of their therapy. Clinicians are probably unaware of the extent to which many patients, including this population, have embraced integrative medicine. Awareness of patients' goal and preferences is valuable in shared clinical decision making.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Arizona , Scottsdale, AZ.
authors.forename: Jack H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Short
authors.affiliation: 2 Division of Women's Health Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Arizona , Scottsdale, AZ.
authors.forename: Constance
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.affiliation: 3 Division of Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic Arizona , Scottsdale, AZ.
authors.forename: Janis E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Blair
authors.affiliation: 3 Division of Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic Arizona , Scottsdale, AZ.
authors.forename: Terry D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.affiliation: 3 Division of Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic Arizona , Scottsdale, AZ.
authors.forename: Mark W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.affiliation: 3 Division of Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic Arizona , Scottsdale, AZ.
authors.forename: Roberto L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Patron
authors.affiliation: 4 Division of Women's Health Internal Medicine & Integrative Medicine Program, Mayo Clinic Arizona , Scottsdale, AZ.
authors.forename: Denise M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Millstine
mesh_terms: D001130:Arizona; D003047:Coccidioidomycosis / Q000628:therapy*; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005221:Fatigue; D006801:Humans; D055048:Integrative Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: CAM in targeted or specific populations; chronic disease; fatigue; infectious diseases; integrative medicine; pulmonary medicine