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KMID : 0363220100480060494
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Korean Journal of Dermatology
2010 Volume.48 No. 6 p.494 ~ p.502
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An Investigation on the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Psoriasis
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Kim Jun-Young
Lee Weon-Ju
Lee Seok-Jong
Kim Do-Won
Kim Tae-Hoon
Jun Jae-Bok
Kim Moon-Bum
Kim Byung-Soo
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Abstract
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Background: Psoriasis is a chronic and intractable disease that drives patients to seek a complete cure. Recently, the patients who have failed with conventional medicine increasingly appear to be turning to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), yet little is known of CAM’s prevalence of use, and its effectiveness and safety, and especially for treating psoriasis.
Objective: The aim of this study was to qualify and quantify the usage of CAM for the treatment of psoriasis, and to offer valid information for dermatologists.
Methods: A total of 158 patients suffering from psoriasis were interviewed and they filled out a face-to-face structured questionnaire.
Results: Sixty-nine of 158 (43.7%) psoriasis patients reported the current or previous use of CAM. In the order of frequency, oriental medicine (49, 31.0%) was the most commonly used, followed by spa and bath therapy (31, 19.6%), health food supplements (28, 17.7%), topical applications (14, 8.9%) and dietary therapy (14, 8.9%). The majority of patients (60.9%) used CAM from the ‘Desire to try everything’. The subjective therapeutic effect and satisfaction with CAM were predominant with health food supplements (57.1% and 53.6%, respectively). After the use of CAM, the patients most frequently complained of ‘aggravation of psoriasis’ as a side effect of CAM (14.0%).
Conclusion: These results indicate that CAM is being widely used by patients with psoriasis. However, the use of CAM seems to not be very effective and it is not free of risks. Thus, the direct and indirect risks, and the merits and disadvantages of CAM should always be considered with prudence before using CAM in clinical practice. (Korean J Dermatol 2010;48(6):494∼502)
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KEYWORD
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Complementary and alternative medicine, Conventional medicine, Health food supplement, Oriental medicine, Psoriasis
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