P02.136 LB
Purpose: Few studies have investigated the effectiveness of integrative medicine (IM) therapies on pain and anxiety among cardiology inpatients.
Methods: Retrospective data obtained from electronic medical records (EMR) identified patients with a cardiology ICD-9 code who were admitted to a large Midwestern hospital between July 1, 2009 and December 31, 2012. Outcomes were change in patient-reported pain and anxiety, rated before and after IM treatments using a numeric scale (0–10).
Results: Of 57,295 hospital admissions over the study period, 6,589 (11.5%) included IM therapy. Older patients had reduced odds of receiving any IM therapy (OR: 0.98, (0.97–0.98)) and females had 96% (OR: 1.96, (1.84–2.09)) higher odds of receiving any IM therapy compared to males. Compared to other diseases of the circulatory system, admissions from hypertensive disease (OR: 1.48, (1.39–1.57)), diseases of pulmonary circulation (OR: 1.24, (1.10–1.39)), and cerebrovascular disease (OR: 1.08, (0.99–1.18)) were associated with increased odds of receiving IM therapy, while ischemic heart disease (OR: 0.72, (0.67–0.78)) and diseases of arteries, arterioles, and capillaries (OR: 0.75, (0.67–0.84)) had reduced odds of receiving IM therapy. Moderate (OR: 1.67, (1.50–1.85)), major (OR: 2.80 (2.52–3.12)), and extreme (OR: 5.00 (4.45–5.61)) illness severity were statistically significantly associated with higher odds of receiving IM therapy compared to admissions of minor illness severity. After receiving IM therapy, patients averaged a 37.3% ((36.5–38.2%), p-value<0.001) reduction in pain and a 27.3% ((26.4–28.2%), p-value<0.001) reduction in anxiety. There was no difference between bodywork, mind-body and energy therapies, therapies derived from traditional Chinese medicine, and combination therapies on pain reduction; however, mind-body and energy therapies were the most effective at reducing anxiety among this cardiovascular patient population.
Conclusion: IM services to cardiology inpatients resulted in substantial decreases in pain and anxiety. Future studies are warranted and should explore potential synergy of opioid analgesics and IM therapy for pain control.
Contact: Jill Johnson, Jill.Johnson3@allina.com
