Use of Complementary Therapy in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: An Advanced Study Approach
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a term that refers to a collection of medical and health-care systems, practises, and products that are not included in mainstream medicine. Many CAM therapies for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) have not been proven to be effective or safe. The goal of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of Bach flower remedies as a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapy in children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.
Methods: 30 patients with JIA were randomly assigned to undergo Bach flowers therapy (Healing Herbs, United Kingdom) or placebo in a prospective, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment. Over the course of a 5-month follow-up period, both groups had five medical visits. The American College of Rheumatology Pediatric 30 (ACR Pedi-30) criteria for improvement were used at the first and last visits. Clinical examination, symptoms, side events, changes in conventional medicine, and parents’ and patients’ perceptions of the therapy were all assessed at each medical visit.
Results: According to the ACR-30 score, 67 percent (10/15) of patients in the flower solution group improved and 77 percent (10/13) of patients in the placebo group improved, although the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.83). Ten children’s treatment regimens remained unchanged, whereas five were assigned to flower therapy (p>0.05). Nine children were able to reduce their medication use; however, the difference was not significant (p=0.43) in the flower therapy group (6/9). 75 percent (21/28) of patients or family members assessed the complementary therapy received as very or very good, 14 from the flower therapy group and 8 from the placebo group, with no significant differences between groups (p= 0.19).
Conclusions: In this study, Bach flower treatment in JIA was not found to be more helpful than a placebo. Traditional JIA therapy should not be substituted by CAM therapy; nevertheless, this study suggests that this type of therapy is safe and can be used in conjunction with traditional therapy. Bach flower therapy can assist and support patients and families who are suffering from emotional difficulties. On this topic, paediatricians could have an open relationship with families, allowing for discussion, information sharing, and chronic disease research.
Author (S) Details
Muschi Szigethi
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Andrea Mena
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Ximena Norambuena
Immunorheumatology Unit, Children´s Hospital Dr. Exequiel Gonzalez Cortes (HEGC), Santiago, Chile and Pediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization (PRINTO), Chile.
Lorena Jiusan
Immunorheumatology Unit, Children´s Hospital Dr. Exequiel Gonzalez Cortes (HEGC), Santiago, Chile.
Arnoldo Quezada
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile and Immunorheumatology Unit, Children´s Hospital Dr. Exequiel Gonzalez Cortes (HEGC), Santiago, Chile and Pediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization (PRINTO), Chile.
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