Use of complementary and alternative medicine in children affected by oncologic, neurologic and liver diseases: a narrative review

Francesca Casini; Francesca Scaltrito; Maria Teresa Grimaldi; Tudor Lucian Pop; Valeria Calcaterra; Gian Vincenzo Zuccotti; Massimo Pettoello-Mantovani; Pietro Ferrara; Giovanni Corsello; Valentina Fabiano

doi:10.1186/s13052-023-01554-0

Use of complementary and alternative medicine in children affected by oncologic, neurologic and liver diseases: a narrative review

Ital J Pediatr. 2023 Nov 15;49(1):152. doi: 10.1186/s13052-023-01554-0.

Authors

Francesca Casini¹, Francesca Scaltrito², Maria Teresa Grimaldi², Tudor Lucian Pop^{3

4}, Valeria Calcaterra^{1

5}, Gian Vincenzo Zuccotti^{1

6}, Massimo Pettoello-Mantovani^{2

4}, Pietro Ferrara^{7

8}, Giovanni Corsello⁹, Valentina Fabiano^{10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Pediatric Department, University of Milan, "V. Buzzi" Children's Hospital, 20154, Milan, Italy.
² Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
³ 2Nd Pediatric Discipline, Department of Mother and Child, Center of Expertise in Pediatric Liver Rare Diseases, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy2Nd Pediatric ClinicEmergency Clinical Hospital for Children Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
⁴ European Pediatric Association-Union of National European Pediatric Societies and Associations, Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
⁶ Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, 20157, Milan, Italy.
⁷ Department of Medicine and Surgery, University Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy.
⁸ Operative Research Unit of Pediatrics, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy.
⁹ Department of Pediatrics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
¹⁰ Pediatric Department, University of Milan, "V. Buzzi" Children's Hospital, 20154, Milan, Italy. valentina.fabiano@unimi.it.
¹¹ Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Milan, 20157, Milan, Italy. valentina.fabiano@unimi.it.

Abstract

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) consist of a broad group of restorative resources often linked to existing local cultures and established health care systems and are also increasingly used in children with some serious illnesses. In this narrative review, we examine the epidemiology of the use, efficacy, and safety of complementary and alternative medicine in pediatric oncology, neurology, and hepatology. We searched for relevant articles published in Pubmed evaluating CAM use and its efficacy in safety in children affected by oncologic, neurologic and liver diseases. CAM is used to improve the success of conventional therapies, but also to alleviate the pain, discomfort, and suffering resulting from the diseases and their treatment, which are often associated with a significant burden of adverse effects. CAM use must be evaluated in children with neurological, oncological and liver diseases.

Keywords: Alternative and complementary medicine; Children; Liver diseases; Medications; Neurology; Oncology.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Child
Complementary Therapies* / adverse effects
Complementary Therapies* / methods
Humans
Liver Diseases* / etiology
Liver Diseases* / therapy
Neoplasms* / therapy
Neurology*
Pain / etiology