अमूर्त

Use of Complementary Alternative Treatments in Pediatric Neurology: Experience of Pediatric Peurologist in Saudi Arabia

Mai D Alnufaei, Ahad A Alkenani, Reem A Alyoubi*, Osama Y Muthaffar, Mohammed M Jan

Complementary and alternative treatments (CATs), in widespread use all over the world, are broadly defined as any treatments which do not follow standard medicinal practice. However, much international research has shown that the prevalence of using CATs as a treatment is increasing, especially in neurological diseases. Unfortunately, published data estimating the prevalence and spectrum of neurological disorders and that studied the usage of CATs in Saudi Arabia are very limited. To assess the CAT prevalence among pediatric neurology disorder and determine its effectiveness. A cross-sectional study targeted Saudi Arabia pediatric neurologists were conducted through an electronic questionnaire in July 2017. A total of 62 physician out of 75 (83%) participated. The result showed that the commonest CAT is Multivitamins (83.9%), omega-3 (66.1%) and Nootropil (33.9%). (6.5%) of participating patient's use CAT always while (93.5%) sometimes. Regarding the benefits, 40.3% noticed sometimes, and 58.1% chose no benefit. 78.1% never encounter side effects while 12.9% experienced sometimes. The CAT consumption reasons were 80.6% developmental delay, 46.8% no definitive treatment and 43.5% epilepsy. In conclusion, the usage of CAT is common in almost all countries with the higher percentage in neurology than in other pediatric specialties. The most commonly used CAT in Saudi Arabia are the Multivitamins, omega 3, and Nootropil. As CATs are tremendously popular among neurological cases, physicians are encouraged to question their patients about its use and gain more information with the goal being to be able to give evidence-based advice. Physicians should also review their consumer files to ensure minimal to no side effects. Finally, more studies are recommended aimed at parents to discover any correlations between the usage of CATs and any notable effects.