The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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  • Recent Comments

    Music helps cast broken bones in children

    Researchers from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio report that playing soft music in the cast room decreases anxiety in young children who require placement or removal of a cast on a broken bone.

    First, the details.

    • 28 children were exposed to an instrumental lullaby piped into the cast room as background music.
    • 41 were randomly assigned to not be exposed to music.
    • 39 children had casts removed and 26 had casts applied.
    • There were also 3 cases of pin removal from a bone, and one of suture removal.

    And, the results.

    • The change in heart rate between the waiting room and the cast room was -2.7 beats/min in the music group and +4.7 beats/min in the no music group
    • The difference in heart rate between the waiting room and during the procedure was 15.3 beats/min in the music group and 22.5 beats/min in the no music group.
    • These differences were statistically significant
    • 7 patients in the no music group had heart rate increases of greater than 40 beats/min.
    • No child in the music group had an increase of this magnitude.

    The bottom line?
    The authors concluded, “Playing soft music in the cast room is a simple and inexpensive option for decreasing anxiety in young children during cast room procedures.”

    11/20/07 19:53 JR

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