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Complementary and alternative medicines: adverse events. |
Complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) and therapies are often regarded as "natural" and, therefore, harmless. However, for the the vast majority of CAMs no formal testing or adverse event reporting mechanisms are in place. A study published in Archives of Disease in Childhood studied adverse effects associated with CAMs.
The researchers used the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit to identify cases over a 3 year period. 39 adverse events were reported ranging from mild to severe. Four children died due to a failure to use conventional medicine in favour of CAM therapies.
This study demonstrates the potential harm associated with CAMs, either directly related to the CAM or related to the failure to use conventional therapy
Link to paper in ADC: CLICK HERE. |
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