Disclosures None.
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Deaths after chiropractic: a review of published cases
Article first published online: 16 JUN 2010
DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-1241.2010.02352.x
© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Additional Information
How to Cite
Ernst, E. (2010), Deaths after chiropractic: a review of published cases. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 64: 1162–1165. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-1241.2010.02352.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 16 JUN 2010
- Article first published online: 16 JUN 2010
- Paper received November 2009, accepted January 2010
- Abstract
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Summary
Objective: The aim of this study was to summarise all cases in which chiropractic spinal manipulation was followed by death.
Design: This study is a systematic review of case reports.
Methods: Literature searches in four electronic databases with no restrictions of time or language.
Main outcome measure: Death.
Results: Twenty six fatalities were published in the medical literature and many more might have remained unpublished. The alleged pathology usually was a vascular accident involving the dissection of a vertebral artery.
Conclusion: Numerous deaths have occurred after chiropractic manipulations. The risks of this treatment by far outweigh its benefit.