Controversies in Clinical Practice

The Perils of Complementary Alternative Medicine

Michael J. Bayme, Alex Geftler, Uri Netz, Boris Kirshtein, Yair Glazer, Shahar Atias, and Zvi Perry

Abstract

More than 11,000 articles lauding alternative medicine appear in the PubMed database, but there are only a few articles describing the complications of such care. Two patients suffering from complications of alternative medicine were treated in our hospital: one patient developed necrotizing fasciitis after acupuncture, and the second developed an epidural hematoma after chiropractic manipulation. These complications serve as a clarion call to the Israeli Health Ministry, as well as to health ministries around the world, to include complementary medicine under its inspection and legislative authority.

Rambam Maimonides Med J 2014;5(3):e0019