The Determination of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Patients Presenting at the Emergency Room

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine CAM use in patients presenting at the emergency room. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 385 patients presenting at the emergency room. Data was collected with a questionnaire between the dates 02.01.2016–31.03.2016. Results: The reasons for the presentation at the emergency room were found to be stomach ache (17.2%), vomiting nausea (14.8%), headache (11.2%), shortness of breath (10.9%), and urinary problems (9.6%). 94% of the patients presenting at the emergency room were found to use CAM methods with the methods used being prayer (82.3%), herbal medicine/tea (48.6%), and diets supplementary (9.4%). 80.9% of the patients were found not to share their CAM usage with health professionals. Conclusion: In order to ensure patient safety and prevent patients from coming to harm, it is thought that encouraging patients to share their CAM use with health care professionals is very important. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd