title: Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Allergy Practices: Results of a Nationwide Survey of Allergists.
abstract: The use of complementary and alternative practices in the field of Allergy/Immunology is growing. A recent survey of American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology members examining patterns of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use and adverse effects from CAM revealed that a majority of practitioners (81% of respondents) had patients who are using CAM therapies over conventional treatments and many practitioners (60% of survey respondents) have encountered patients experiencing adverse reactions. During routine office visits, a majority of practitioners do not ask patients about CAM use, and when they do, most do not have a standard intake form to take a CAM history. There is a strong need to increase knowledge and improve measures to prevent adverse reactions to CAMs.
authors.affiliation: Allergy Department, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, San Diego, Calif. Electronic address: Michael.h.land@kp.org.
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Land
authors.affiliation: The Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000072223:Allergists; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D029001:Herbal Medicine; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014815:Vitamins / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins
keywords: Adverse reactions; Alternative medicine; Complementary medicine; Integrative medicine; Survey