Gac Med Mex. 2019;155(4):363-368. doi: 10.24875/GMM.19004667.
Actitudes de los médicos familiares mexicanos sobre el uso de placebos en la práctica clínica.
Gil-Alfaro I1,
Zavala-Cruz GG2,
Rodríguez-González AM3,
Ramírez-Aranda JM4.
Author information
Abstract
in
English,
Spanish
Introduction:
The use of placebo has spread in clinical practice despite being controversial. In Mexico, the practice of family medicine is predominantly institutional and works with an essential medications list.
Objective:
To determine the frequency and family doctor attitude regarding the use of placebos in clinical practice.
Method:
Cross-sectional, observational, multicenter study of 307 family doctors with active practice in 27 states of the Mexican Republic. A questionnaire was used with sociodemographic data and consensus-developed questions about frequency of use and attitudes. For analysis, the square-chi test was used.
Results:
75% used placebos (95% CI=69.7-79.4%); 122 (39.7%) used pure placebos, mainly water (p < 0.05), and 220 (71.6%), impure placebos, mainly vitamins and laboratory tests. They were used more in patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms (178, 45.5%), including 122 (31.2%) "healthy worried" patients, or who had chronic conditions (40, 12.5%). Reasons for prescription: 249 (81%) for the psychological effect, when they showed benefit (176, 57%), even when it implied deceiving (78, 25%) or insufficient evidence of efficacy (57, 19%). The main reason was because of patient insistence.
Conclusions:
More impure placebos were used, mainly in healthy worried patients and in those with chronic conditions.
Copyright: © 2019 Permanyer.
KEYWORDS:
Atención primaria de salud; Community-based medicine primary health care; Efecto placebo; Family medicine; Medicina comunitaria; Medicina familiar; Placebo effect; Placebos
PMID:
31486794
DOI:
10.24875/GMM.19004667
[Indexed for MEDLINE]
