REVIEW

Abstract For many families and their children, the use of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) is an ac-cepted adjunct or alternative to conventional therapy, even if data available in the literature regarding risks and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) pertaining to childhood populations are scarce. Moreover, despite widespread and increasing use of CAM, there are limited data on how paediatricians communicate with mothers and/or patients about CAM. Therefore, we report the studies available in the literature in the paediatric field and summarise what is known about ADRs and risks of CAM, taking into account in particular problems related to interactions between phytotherapy and conventional medicines and to counselling. Conclusion: From the analysis of the literature, some interesting aspects emerge: (1) the extent of CAM use in the pae-diatric field is increasingly sought by parents of children with chronic illnesses; (2) most parents who choose CAM medicine for their children believe that these therapies are ‘‘natural’ ’ and thus ‘‘safe’ ’ and (3) physi-cians often feel to know too little about CAM and wish to learn more for different reasons including ‘‘to dis-suade whether the alternative method is unsafe and/or ineffective’’. Therefore, paediatricians should be pre-pared to discuss alternative therapies with parents, since talking about CAM may help to minimise the risks and to restrain parental misconceptions and doubts. Edu-cational interventions for parents should also be per-formed to bring about a more aware use of traditional and alternative medicines