Hestbaek Lise, Jørgensen Annette, Hartvigsen Jan
Nordic Institute of Chiropractic and Clinical Biomechanics, Odense, Denmark.
J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2009 Oct;32(8):607-15. doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2009.08.024.
The purpose of this study was to describe Danish chiropractic patients younger than 18 years.
Questionnaires were mailed to all chiropractic clinics in Denmark during a randomly assigned month between September 2007 and September 2008. All patients younger than 18 years or their parents were asked to complete a questionnaire collecting information on age, presenting complaint, duration and consequences of this complaint, referral mode, and use of pain medication.
Babies were the most common pediatric patients with about one third being between 0 and 4 months of age. Infantile colic was the most common presenting complaint in this age group. For the older children, musculoskeletal problems were the most dominant complaint, ranging from 33% among the preschool children to 75% among the teenagers. These complaints were often chronic and about a third of the children older than 2 years had experienced symptoms for more than 1 year before seeing the chiropractor. These health complaints were reported to restrict activity as well as alter mood, and 39% of the 2- to 17-year olds used analgesics. There was limited referral of patients from other health care professionals.
Babies made up most of the Danish chiropractic patients younger than 18 years. Among the older children and the adolescents, musculoskeletal complaints were most common and mostly of a chronic nature. The large number of pediatric patients in chiropractic practices and the paucity of evidence of treatment effectiveness indicate the need for further research in these age groups.
本研究旨在描述丹麦18岁以下的脊椎按摩疗法患者。
在2007年9月至2008年9月间随机选定的一个月内，向丹麦所有脊椎按摩疗法诊所邮寄调查问卷。所有18岁以下患者或其父母被要求填写一份问卷，收集有关年龄、就诊主诉、该主诉的持续时间和后果、转诊方式以及止痛药使用情况的信息。
婴儿是最常见的儿科患者，约三分之一年龄在0至4个月之间。婴儿腹绞痛是该年龄组最常见的就诊主诉。对于年龄较大的儿童，肌肉骨骼问题是最主要的主诉，在学龄前儿童中占33%，在青少年中占75%。这些主诉往往是慢性的，超过三分之一的2岁以上儿童在看脊椎按摩师之前已经出现症状超过1年。据报告，这些健康问题会限制活动并影响情绪，2至17岁的儿童中有39%使用了镇痛药。来自其他医疗保健专业人员的患者转诊有限。
婴儿占丹麦18岁以下脊椎按摩疗法患者的大多数。在年龄较大的儿童和青少年中，肌肉骨骼主诉最为常见，且大多为慢性。脊椎按摩疗法诊所中儿科患者数量众多，但治疗效果证据不足，这表明需要对这些年龄组进行进一步研究。
