A Systematic Review of Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine: “Miscellaneous Therapies”

Abstract

There is an increasing interest in complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CAVM). There is, however, an uncertainty of the efficacy of these methods. Therefore, the aim of this systematic literature review is to assess the evidence for clinical efficacy of 24 CAVM therapies used in cats, dogs, and horses. A bibliographic search, restricted to studies in cats, dogs, and horses, was performed on Web of Science Core Collection, CABI, and PubMed. Relevant articles were assessed for scientific quality, and information was extracted on study characteristics, species, type of treatment, indication, and treatment effects. Of 982 unique publications screened, 42 were eligible for inclusion, representing nine different CAVM therapies, which were aromatherapy, gold therapy, homeopathy, leeches (hirudotherapy), mesotherapy, mud, neural therapy, sound (music) therapy, and vibration therapy. For 15 predefined therapies, no study was identified. The risk of bias was assessed as high in 17 studies, moderate to high in 10, moderate in 10, low to moderate in four, and low in one study. In those studies where the risk of bias was low to moderate, there was considerable heterogeneity in reported treatment effects. Therefore, the scientific evidence is not strong enough to define the clinical efficacy of the 24 CAVM therapies.

Bienestar animal y medicinas integrativas

“…Trata o ser de forma integral (corpo e mente) a fim de promover a estimulação das forças vitais responsáveis pela saúde e bem-estar, visa a restauração e manutenção da saúde (Lopes, 2010). Seguem alguns exemplos de práticas integrativas: Homeopatia, Acupuntura, Terapia Neural, Aromaterapia, Biorressonância, Iridologia, Terapia Vibracional entre outras (Bergh et al, 2021;Cadima et al 2022).…”

“…As terapias complementares são comumente utilizadas nos animais, podendo ser empregadas como tratamento único ou conjugado a outras terapias tradicionais e complementares, na prevenção e no tratamento de doenças (Bergh et al, 2021). A medicina complementar é de orientação humanista, consiste em terapias biológicas que atuam a favor do bem-estar, visam medidas preventivas para a manutenção da saúde e para a regulação da capacidade espontânea de equilíbrio corporal (Lopes, 2010).…”

A Systematic Review of Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine in Sport and Companion Animals: Soft Tissue Mobilization

“…The present article is one of a series of systematic review articles in a Special Issue of Animals on complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CAVM) therapies used in sport and companion animals. The other articles will cover manipulation/mobilization therapies [ 13 ], electrotherapies, therapeutic ultrasound, extracorporeal shock wave therapy, laser therapy, acupuncture, and “miscellaneous therapies” [ 14 ].…”

Evidence-Based Human Homeopathy and Veterinary Homeopathy. Comment on Bergh et al. A Systematic Review of Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine: “Miscellaneous Therapies”. Animals 2021, 11, 3356

“…The way homeopathy has been represented over the past years as well as in the article ‘ A Systematic Review of Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine: “Miscellaneous Therapies” ’, a systematic review on published papers [ 1 ], clearly shows the need of in-depth knowledge of integrative medicine (a combination of patient-oriented conventional and complementary medicine). In the US, integrative medicine is a self-evident part of the curriculum of the veterinary schools and of the top medical schools, from Harvard to Stanford.…”