Use of alternative medicine by patients undergoing cardiac surgery

Objective: Complementary and alternative medicine may influence cardiac sur gical care by inducing coagulopathies and interacting with perioperative me dications. We evaluated the significance of complementary and alternative m edicine use in an acutely ill cardiac surgical population and assessed the willingness of patients to reveal these activities to their physicians and surgeons. Methods: A total of 376 consecutive patients undergoing preoperative or pos toperative cardiothoracic surgical evaluations at an urban academic medical center were approached to complete a survey regarding use and attitudes to ward complementary and alternative medicine. All surveys were administered and collected between March and May 1998. Results: Completion rate was 70% (n = 263). Respondents were predominantly male (72%), white (76%), and well educated (59%). The overall rate of compl ementary and alternative medicine use was 75%, but excluding prayer and vit amins, which are often not considered complementary and alternative medicin e therapies, the rate was 44%. There was no correlation between the use of complementary and alternative medicine and the parameters of gender, age, r ace, or education level. Only 17% responded that they had discussed complem entary and alternative medicine with their physicians, and 48% responded th at they did not want to discuss the topic at all. Conclusions: Complementary and alternative medicine is used as frequently i n patients undergoing cardiac surgery, as in the general population, Physic ians and surgeons should be aware that patients have no inherent predisposi tion toward or against using complementary and alternative medicine, but th at they are unlikely to volunteer their experience with it. The unwillingne ss of patients to discuss complementary and alternative medicine with physi cians has serious implications for their safety, especially in acute care s ituations.