Soeren Klaus Buentzel1, Jutta Huebner1, Judith Buentzel2, Oliver Micke3. 1. Klinik für Innere Medizin II, Hämatologie und Onkologie, Universitätsklinikum Jena, Jena, Germany. 2. Klinik für Hämatologie und Medizinische Onkologie, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; judith.buentzel@med.uni-goettingen.de. 3. Klinik für Strahlentherapie, Radioonkologie, Franziskus-Hospital Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM: Abdominal discomfort during tumour therapy often leads to the use of phytotherapeutics from the field of folk medicine. What knowledge base do patients and young physicians have when they come across this phenomenon together? PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted an online survey of 157 medical students and, in consultation, 125 patients according to a standardised algorithm about their knowledge and use of a list of given medicinal plants for the above-mentioned symptomatology. We previously created the list of traditional German medicinal plants taking into account the symptoms of bloating, fullness, diarrhoea, constipation, and nausea. Both data pools are presented descriptively, compared using principal component analysis, and student knowledge was subjected to network analysis. RESULTS: As a median, patients know 9 medicinal plants and use 4 species. Students know 10 medicinal plants and use 5 species. The rate of non-users is 13.6% among patients and 11.4% among students. The plants used by both groups are ginger and mint, whereas patients also use camomile and fennel. The nearly coincident knowledge profile speaks of a common knowledge base - folk medicine. Network analysis illustrated that students stored their knowledge in symptom clusters. CONCLUSION: Patients with cancer and students are familiar with a similar canon of medicinal plants for the treatment of abdominal discomfort. Their common source is folk medicine. Targeted instructions on evidence-based phytotherapy are needed to improve students' existing symptom-cluster-related knowledge.
BACKGROUND/AIM: Abdominal discomfort during tumour therapy often leads to the use of phytotherapeutics from the field of folk medicine. What knowledge base do patients and young physicians have when they come across this phenomenon together? PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted an online survey of 157 medical students and, in consultation, 125 patients according to a standardised algorithm about their knowledge and use of a list of given medicinal plants for the above-mentioned symptomatology. We previously created the list of traditional German medicinal plants taking into account the symptoms of bloating, fullness, diarrhoea, constipation, and nausea. Both data pools are presented descriptively, compared using principal component analysis, and student knowledge was subjected to network analysis. RESULTS: As a median, patients know 9 medicinal plants and use 4 species. Students know 10 medicinal plants and use 5 species. The rate of non-users is 13.6% among patients and 11.4% among students. The plants used by both groups are ginger and mint, whereas patients also use camomile and fennel. The nearly coincident knowledge profile speaks of a common knowledge base - folk medicine. Network analysis illustrated that students stored their knowledge in symptom clusters. CONCLUSION: Patients with cancer and students are familiar with a similar canon of medicinal plants for the treatment of abdominal discomfort. Their common source is folk medicine. Targeted instructions on evidence-based phytotherapy are needed to improve students' existing symptom-cluster-related knowledge.
Authors: Eric Manheimer; Ke Cheng; L Susan Wieland; Li Shih Min; Xueyong Shen; Brian M Berman; Lixing Lao Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2012-05-16
Authors: Annie Herbert; Meena Rafiq; Tra My Pham; Cristina Renzi; Gary A Abel; Sarah Price; Willie Hamilton; Irene Petersen; Georgios Lyratzopoulos Journal: PLoS Med Date: 2021-08-02 Impact factor: 11.069