LONDON (AP) - Giving alternative treatments instead of conventional medicines to children could have deadly results.
That's the finding of a new analysis from researchers in Australia.
They looked at reports from pediatricians there, to see if there were side effects from alternative medicines like herbal treatments and vitamin supplements.
They found 39 reports of side effects, including four deaths.
The study appears online in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.
The side effects of conventional medicines are tracked by national surveillance systems. But there are no such systems in place for alternative therapies.
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