Uso de las terapias complementarias en Cuidados Paliativos

Abstract

Abstract (Use of complementary therapies in palliative care) Aim. To evaluate the effectiveness of different complementary therapies to reduce symptoms in terminally ill patients. Methods. The literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cuiden and Scopus databases. Quality assessment of selected studies was conducted by the CASPe checklist. Results. The electronic search resulted in 491 articles. After applying the inclusion criteria, five articles with moderate and low methodological quality were identified. Despite the heterogeneity of the samples, a significant reduction of pain, depression and anxiety in patients undergoing these therapies was observed. Conclusion. There is limited scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of complementary therapies for reducing symptoms in terminally ill patients. Future research will require a more solid methodologies designed to explore the benefits in the short and long term of these techniques