Use of alternative and complementary therapies in patients with chronic pain in a medical institution in Medellín, Colombia, 2014

Abstract

Objective: Determine the characteristics of the use of alternative and complementary therapies in chronic pain patients who consult to a hospital institution in Medellin. Material and methods: Cross-sectional study with patients attending outpatient consult that met the eligibility criteria. No sampling was conducted. A validated form to collect sociodemographic and clinical variables and Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire (HCAMQ) was used. The analysis and processing of information was performed with the SPSS program version 19. Results: 220 people with chronic pain participated. The average age was 54.7 ± 16.2 years, 78.2 % were women and 75.5 % belonged to socioeconomic levels 1 to 3. The most frequent types of chronic pain were musculoskeletal pain (77.7 %) and migraine (15 %). The 33. 6% of participants used some form of complementary and alternative therapies, the most frequent were: homeopathy (14.5 %) and herbal medicine (12.7 %). HCAMQ average total score for the study group was 30.2 ± 7.0 points. The highest pain scores were from patients with: neuralgia (32.4 ± 5.8) and musculoskeletal pain (30.5 ± 6.7). HCAMQ reliability was acceptable (Cronbach's α: 0.6). Conclusions: The chronic pain and therapeutic management observed correspond to those reported in literature. Despite reduced use of alternative and complementary therapies, the HCAMQ scale can be useful for assessing beliefs about the value of alternative medicine.