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Integrative Therapies to Support Pediatric Palliative Care: the Current Evidence

  • Pediatric Palliative Care (KS Hoehn, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Pediatrics Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

This review offers an evidence-based introduction to integrative therapies that can be used with children receiving palliative care and suggestions for how to incorporate these therapies into practice.

Recent Findings

For each integrative therapy discussed, recent research from both the pediatric and adult literature is summarized.

Summary

Integrative medicine offers a patient-centered approach to care that brings together conventional and complementary therapies. Evidence-based integrative therapies exist for many troublesome end-of-life symptoms, including pain, anxiety, nausea, and constipation, and offer the benefits of being low risk and non-invasive. The body of evidence on integrative therapies for pediatric palliative care is still small but interest and use among patients and providers are stimulating increased research efforts which are summarized here.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Miriam T. Stewart

  2. Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Sanghamitra M. Misra

  3. University of Kansas Health System, Kansas City, KS, USA

    Joy A. Weydert

  4. Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA

    Shiu-Lin Tsai

  5. Tucson, AZ, USA

    Hilary McClafferty

  6. Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Michelle G. Brenner

  7. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Melanie L. Brown

  8. Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Melanie L. Brown

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  1. Miriam T. Stewart
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  4. Shiu-Lin Tsai
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  5. Hilary McClafferty
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  7. Melanie L. Brown
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Correspondence to Melanie L. Brown.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Pediatric Palliative Care

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Stewart, M.T., Misra, S.M., Weydert, J.A. et al. Integrative Therapies to Support Pediatric Palliative Care: the Current Evidence. Curr Pediatr Rep 6, 150–157 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40124-018-0167-6

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