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A recent report found the use of alternative medicine by patients in the United States to be 42%.¹ Visits to alternative medicine practitioners exceed visits to primary care physicians.¹ A review of alternative medicine use by dermatologic patients cited 7 studies, which reported a lifetime prevalence of 35% to 69%.² However, only 1 reviewed study examined a US population; none evaluated general medicine patients; and only 1 examined patients with various rather than single conditions. Moreover, fewer than 50% of patients using alternative medicine used them exclusively to treat existing conditions. Most were used to prevent future illness.¹ Recently, a study of 192 patients with nonmelanoma skin cancer found that 19% currently used alternative therapies for any indication, dermatologic or nondermatologic.³ However, only 2 patients used them for skin cancer. Another recent study of 80 dermatology clinic patients with psoriasis or eczema in England found that 10% of the patients . . . [Full Text of this Article]

David R. Berk, AB; Matthew H. Kanzler, MD

Correspondence: Dr Kanzler, Division of Dermatology, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, 751 S Bascom Ave, San Jose, CA (Matthew.Kanzler@Stanford.edu).