Fleischer A B, Feldman S R, Rapp S R, Reboussin D M, Exum M L, Clark A R
Department of Dermatology, Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Cutis. 1996 Sep;58(3):216-20.
Alternative therapies are known to be employed by dermatology patients. This study investigates the use of alternative medical treatments for psoriasis and the sociodemographic variables, conventional medical treatment, and psoriasis disease severity. Our study population consisted of 578 university dermatology clinic patients with psoriasis and data was analyzed from 317 (55 percent) questionnaire respondents. The majority of our sample were women (57 percent) and nonwhites represented 8 percent of our sample. Psoriasis severity was measured using the validated Self-Administered Psoriasis Area and Severity Index. Alternative medicine was used by 62 percent of respondents. Excluding sunlight and nonprescription tanning equipment, 51 percent used one or more of the remaining alternative therapeutic modalities. The psoriasis severity was worse in those who had tried herbal remedies, vitamin therapy, and dietary manipulation. With the exception of vitamin therapy, we observed no association between the intensity of conventional medical treatment and alternative treatment. The present or prior use of herbal remedies was correlated with the use of vitamin therapy and sunbathing, and dietary interventions were significantly correlated with vitamin therapy. Of the 113 (36 percent) who had used nonprescription tanning equipment for their psoriasis, 68 percent believed this modality was effective. We found that alternative medical therapies were widely utilized by subjects participating in this study. Clinicians need to continue to be aware of nonallopathic remedies employed by their patients to discover useful information about future therapies and to monitor for adverse effects.
已知皮肤科患者会采用替代疗法。本研究调查了银屑病替代医学治疗的使用情况以及社会人口统计学变量、传统医学治疗和银屑病疾病严重程度。我们的研究对象包括578名大学皮肤科诊所的银屑病患者，对317名（55%）问卷受访者的数据进行了分析。我们样本中的大多数是女性（57%），非白人占样本的8%。使用经过验证的银屑病面积和严重程度自测指数来衡量银屑病的严重程度。62%的受访者使用过替代医学。除阳光和非处方晒黑设备外，51%的人使用了一种或多种其余的替代治疗方式。尝试过草药疗法、维生素疗法和饮食调整的患者银屑病严重程度更差。除维生素疗法外，我们未观察到传统医学治疗强度与替代治疗之间存在关联。目前或既往使用草药疗法与使用维生素疗法和日光浴相关，饮食干预与维生素疗法显著相关。在113名（36%）曾使用非处方晒黑设备治疗银屑病的患者中，68%认为这种方式有效。我们发现参与本研究的受试者广泛使用替代医学疗法。临床医生需要继续了解患者使用的非正统疗法，以便发现有关未来疗法的有用信息并监测不良反应。
