Use of complimentary and alternative medicine in orthopedic patients in Pakistan: A cross-sectional study. Hamza Hassan Khan (1), Ghulam Haider Khan (1), Mohammad Arslan Chauhadry (1), Asfandyar Khan Niazi (1) , Dr. Sajjad Hassan Orakzai (2). Final year medical students, Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan. (2) Head of department, department of orthopedics, Shifa College of Medicine/Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan. Introduction Data Analysis Results & Discussion Conclusion Use of CAM CAM is widely prevalent in the Pakistani society. There are several misconceptions that lead to the use of CAM. Several patients delay approaching a medical practitioner and go towards a CAM practitioner before finally approaching an allopathic practitioner. This may delay the start of treatment. Awareness programs among the general population should be run to make them aware of the situation and strict control over the CAM practitioners should be put in place in order to prevent unnecessary delays in treatment of patients. In our study, more than half of the respondents believed that CAM is free from adverse effects. which is clearly not true; since CAM in itself may lead to the worsening of the diseases and may also lead to a delay in the proper treatment of the diseases. A large percentage of the people agreed that allopathic medicine is more effective in treating their diseases than is CAM.   It is quite possible that the delay in diagnosis and treatment of the patients due to the use of CAM would lead to a poor clinical outcome. This situation can be improved by spreading awareness about allopathy amongst the patients. The belief among the general population that CAM is not associated with any adverse effects also needs to be addressed.. The use of CAM by the orthopedic patients has been shown to negatively affect the allopathic medicines and the surgeries of these patients . Some herbal medicines have been shown to interact with the conventional allopathic drugs; in some cases even affecting the metabolism of the anesthetic drugs. The use of complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM) is highly prevalent in the Pakistani population. There are several misconceptions associated with the use of CAM. The use of CAM, as opposed to common belief, may be associated with adverse effects and may also delay the start of allopathic medical treatment in patients. Methods This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of CAM use in a Pakistani orthopedic patient population and define their knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding CAM. References . Tovey PA, Broom AF, Chatwin J, Ahmad S, Hafeez M. Use of traditional, complimentary and allopathic medicines in Pakistan by cancer patients. Rural Remote Health 2005; 5: 447.   Bodeker G, Kronenberg F. A public health agenda for traditional, complimentary and alternative medicine. Am J Publ Health 2002; 92: 1582-1591. Shaikh SH, Malik F, James H, Abdul H. Trends in the use of complimentary and alternative medicine in Pakistan: a population-based survey. J Altern Complement Med 2009; 15(5): 545-550. Shah SF, Mubeen SM, Mansoor S. Concepts of homeopathy among general population in Karachi, Pakistan. J Pak Med Assoc 2010; 60(8): 667-670. Methodology This cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient orthopedic department of Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad. A questionnaire based on 19 questions related to the demographics, knowledge, attitudes, practices and prevalence of CAM was administered to 99 patients. Out of these 99 patients, 85 agreed to fill the questionnaire. The data from the filled questionnaires was entered on to the SPSS software version 17.0.