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.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    Effects of deep breathing on pain management

    There was a significant difference in patient satisfaction, according to researchers in Chicago.

    But what about their pain?

    First, the details.

    • Patients in the emergency department with pain as their chief complaint were randomly assigned to a treatment group.
      • Usual treatment for pain
      • Usual treatment for pain + deep breathing exercises
    • A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to measure pain before and after treatment.
    • Patient satisfaction was measured using the medical interview satisfaction scale (MISS).

    And, the results.

    • There was no difference between groups regarding pain levels after treatment with pain medication.
    • There was a significant difference in patient service satisfaction regarding doctor/patient rapport and intention to follow treatment.

    The bottom line?
    The added attention improved the patients’ satisfaction but not their pain.

    6/3/09 21:18 JR

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