The impact of medical clowns exposure over postoperative pain and anxiety in children and caregivers: An Israeli experience.

While postoperative pain management was shown to reduce unwanted physiological and emotional outcomes, pediatric postoperative pain management remains suboptimal. Medical-clowns were shown to be beneficial in many medical contexts including reduction of stress, anxiety and pain. This study was set to assess the effectiveness of medical-clowns on pediatric postoperative pain reduction.

Setting a research agenda for pediatric complementary and integrative medicine: A consensus approach.

Background: Pediatric use of complementary medicine (CM) is common and offers numerous research questions about diverse therapies and conditions. Although research priorities for pediatric CM have been identified, there was a need to update in light of the rapid evolution of the field.

Methods: Building on previous work, we conducted an international, consensus-based 4-step modified Delphi process to develop and refine a pediatric CM research agenda, including on-line questionnaires and an in-person meeting.

Comprehensive Approach to Lower Blood Pressure (CALM-BP): a randomized controlled trial of a multifactorial lifestyle intervention.

Complementary medicine advocates the use of a multifactorial approach to address the varied aspects of hypertension. The aim of this study was to compare the blood pressure (BP) effect and medication use of a novel Comprehensive Approach to Lowering Measured Blood Pressure (CALM-BP), based on complementary medicine principles, with the standard recommended Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH). A total of 113 patients treated with antihypertensive drugs were randomly assigned to either CALM-BP treatment (consisting of rice diet, walks, yoga, relaxation and stress management) or to a DASH+exercise control group (consisting of DASH and walks).

The effect of acupuncture therapy on pain perception and coping strategies: a preliminary report.

The objective of the present study was to examine the effect of acupuncture on the perception of pain and coping strategies, thus focusing on the psychological aspects of pain. The study was conducted in two complementary and alternative medicine clinics of public hospitals. Forty-one patients scheduled for routine acupuncture therapy because of chronic musculoskeletal pain were recruited for the study to receive eight acupuncture treatments.