Traditional Cautery among Psychiatric Patients in Saudi Arabia

Cauterization, an indigenous treatment technique, is widely used by psychiatric and non-psychiatric patients in Saudi Arabia. This research aimed at describing the socio-demographic and clinical parameters of psychiatric patients who consult traditional healers practising cauterization. A sample of 198 patients, 121 with and 77 without cautery, were randomly selected from inand out-patient departments of Buraidah Mental Health Hospital, Saudi Arabia. In addition to an extensive review of medical records, each patient and a key relative were interviewed to collect sociodemographic and clinical data and details of cautery treatment. Patients with less education, from a rural background or suffering from chronic psychotic disorders, were significantly more likely to utilize cautery. Parents were the main influence on seeking cautery treatment. Cephalic cautery was not associated with therapeutic improvement among patients with psychoses. Infection at the site of cautery was common and 45.5% of cauterized patients required antibiotic therapy. Given the probable lack of therapeutic benefit and the risk of complication, the use of cautery should be discouraged through health education programmes.