Use of alternative medicine in Israeli chronic rhinosinusitis patients

OBJECTIVE: The worldwide interest in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been established in multiple surveys. Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is often an unremitting disease with frequent troubling relapses, and despite wide use of endoscopic sinus surgery, conventional medicine may have a smaller contribution than expected. Because of prevalent use of CAM among patients, it is important that physicians acquire basic knowledge of this subject. We studied the prevalence of CAM use among CRS patients in Israel. DESIGN: Use of CAM was evaluated in a cohort of consecutive adult patients with CRS. SETTING: An outpatient clinic in a tertiary medical centre. METHODS: Patients were asked to fill out an anonymous questionnaire containing demographic data and data pertaining to allergy, traditional medical and surgical treatment use of CAM, and modalities used. RESULTS: Ninety patients were included. Nineteen of them (21%) reported CAM use. This included herbal medicine, vitamins, homeopathy, acupuncture, massage, reflexology, yoga, and chiropractics. There was a tendency, although not statistically significant, for patients with allergy and a history of sinus surgery to use CAM. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CAM use among patients with CRS in Israel is high and may correlate with the presence of allergies and a history of sinus surgery.

J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2009 Aug;38(4):517-20. Yakirevitch A, Bedrin L, Migirov L, Wolf M, Talmi YP. Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel. arkadiyak@gmail.com