TY - JOUR
AU - V. Natarajan
AU - S. N. Rodgers-Melnick
AU - D. W. Miller
A1 - 
AB - BACKGROUND: Pediatric patients with chronic illnesses face a multitude of health challenges that are often inadequately addressed by conventional, siloed medical systems. Pediatric integrative medicine (PIM), blending complementary therapies with conventional medicine, offers an interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach to addressing these complex challenges. Despite growing demand for PIM, lifestyle-oriented care, and multimodal biopsychosocial interventions, few studies have described the clinical delivery of PIM within a large academic medical center. OBJECTIVES: To describe the demographics, clinical characteristics, and interventions utilized within a physician-led, PIM clinic at a large, pediatric academic medical center. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of 2677 outpatient PIM physician office visits (March 2020-September 2023) among 657 pediatric patients (birth-25 years). Data on demographics, diagnoses, interventions, and supplements were extracted from the electronic health record and summarized using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Patients (mean age 12.24 ± 5.20 years) were predominantly female (56%) and White (68%). Common conditions included anxiety (59.2%), fatigue (44.4%), headache (43.1%), abdominal pain (33.6%), constipation (33.0%), nausea (31.7%), vitamin D deficiency (30.1%), myofascial pain (29.5%), and depression (26.8%). Key intervention recommendations included dietary changes (61.8%), myofascial self-care interventions (33.8%), massage therapy (21.0%), acupuncture (19.2%), pacing (18.4%), sleep hygiene (18.3%), and exercise (18.1%). Common supplements recommended included probiotics (49.9%), vitamin D (42.6%), multivitamins (41.9%), fish oil (39.4%), magnesium (32.0%), Chinese herbs (29.7%), and melatonin (22.8%). CONCLUSION: PIM can provide whole-person, integrative care within a large academic medical center for pediatric populations with complex presentations. Its self-governed structure within an academic medical center facilitates broad service integration, addressing demands for comprehensive care. Future practice-based research with standardized documentation and outcome measures is needed to understand PIM's clinical effectiveness.
AD - Connor Whole Health, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH, USA. RINGGOLD: 24575; Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA.; Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA.; Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA.; Department of General Pediatrics, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, OH, USA. RINGGOLD: 24575
AN - 41180131
BT - Glob Adv Integr Med Health
C5 - Healthcare Disparities
DA - Jan-Dec
DO - 10.1177/27536130251392583
DP - NLM
ET - 20251025
JF - Glob Adv Integr Med Health
LA - eng
N2 - BACKGROUND: Pediatric patients with chronic illnesses face a multitude of health challenges that are often inadequately addressed by conventional, siloed medical systems. Pediatric integrative medicine (PIM), blending complementary therapies with conventional medicine, offers an interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach to addressing these complex challenges. Despite growing demand for PIM, lifestyle-oriented care, and multimodal biopsychosocial interventions, few studies have described the clinical delivery of PIM within a large academic medical center. OBJECTIVES: To describe the demographics, clinical characteristics, and interventions utilized within a physician-led, PIM clinic at a large, pediatric academic medical center. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of 2677 outpatient PIM physician office visits (March 2020-September 2023) among 657 pediatric patients (birth-25 years). Data on demographics, diagnoses, interventions, and supplements were extracted from the electronic health record and summarized using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Patients (mean age 12.24 ± 5.20 years) were predominantly female (56%) and White (68%). Common conditions included anxiety (59.2%), fatigue (44.4%), headache (43.1%), abdominal pain (33.6%), constipation (33.0%), nausea (31.7%), vitamin D deficiency (30.1%), myofascial pain (29.5%), and depression (26.8%). Key intervention recommendations included dietary changes (61.8%), myofascial self-care interventions (33.8%), massage therapy (21.0%), acupuncture (19.2%), pacing (18.4%), sleep hygiene (18.3%), and exercise (18.1%). Common supplements recommended included probiotics (49.9%), vitamin D (42.6%), multivitamins (41.9%), fish oil (39.4%), magnesium (32.0%), Chinese herbs (29.7%), and melatonin (22.8%). CONCLUSION: PIM can provide whole-person, integrative care within a large academic medical center for pediatric populations with complex presentations. Its self-governed structure within an academic medical center facilitates broad service integration, addressing demands for comprehensive care. Future practice-based research with standardized documentation and outcome measures is needed to understand PIM's clinical effectiveness.
PY - 2025
SN - 2753-6130
SP - 27536130251392583
ST - CHARacterizing Pediatric Integrative Medicine Within a Large Academic Medical Center (CHARM)
T1 - CHARacterizing Pediatric Integrative Medicine Within a Large Academic Medical Center (CHARM)
T2 - Glob Adv Integr Med Health
TI - CHARacterizing Pediatric Integrative Medicine Within a Large Academic Medical Center (CHARM)
U1 - Healthcare Disparities
U3 - 10.1177/27536130251392583
VL - 14
VO - 2753-6130
Y1 - 2025
ER -