Physician perspectives on complementary and alternative medicine in hidradenitis suppurativa
Recommended Citation
Price KN, Collier EK, Grogan T, Fernandez JM, Alhusayen R, Alavi A, Hamzavi IH, Lowes MA, Porter MJ, Hsiao JL, and Shi VY. Physician perspectives on complementary and alternative medicine in hidradenitis suppurativa. Dermatol Ther 2021.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-6-2021
Publication Title
Dermatologic therapy
Abstract
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic and often debilitating inflammatory condition characterized by frequent nodules, abscesses, sinus tracts, and scars impacting the intertriginous areas. Many patients with HS often report limited treatment success and symptom coverage with conventional therapies. Recent studies have reported the widespread use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among patients with HS. In this study, our aim was to examine current physician practice patterns, opinions, and comfort with recommending CAM. Our results indicate that provider comfort and opinions on CAM varied based on the provider's experiences, demographics, and the CAM modality itself. Overall, nearly two-thirds (n = 30, 61.2%) of respondents agreed that CAM and conventional medicine were more effective together than either alone. Meanwhile, 44.9% (n = 22) of respondents routinely recommend CAM while 64.6% (n = 31) of respondents reported that they are routinely asked about CAM. The majority (n = 41, 83.7%) of respondents indicated a lack of scientific evidence in the medical literature as a barrier to recommending CAM along with efficacy concerns (n = 34, 69.4%) and ability to recommend reputable CAM products (n = 32, 65.3%) and practitioners (n = 32, 65.3%). Future investigations are warranted to establish a better understanding of the efficacy and benefit of CAM methods in conjunction with conventional methods.
PubMed ID
33547869
ePublication
ePub ahead of print
Volume
34
Issue
2
First Page
e14851
Comments
https://doi.org/10.1111/dth.14851