Medicina ancestral en enfermedad renal crónica: efectos biológicos, impacto clínico y riesgos para la seguridad del paciente: revisión sistemática

Introduction: Patients with chronic kidney disease represent a priority problem at all levels of healthcare and significantly affect their quality of life, as well as that of their families. In this regard, many patients resort to ancestral, complementary, or traditional medicine from their places of origin, as part of their self-care. This presents challenges regarding patient safety and quality of care when recognizing the risks and benefits of using these therapies. Methodology: A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines, using PubMed, SciELO, and Google Scholar electronic databases. Original, observational, experimental, and clinical trial articles related to complementary therapies, ancestral, or traditional medicine in patients with chronic kidney disease were included. Data selection and extraction were performed using standardized matrices reviewed and evaluated independently by two reviewers. Results: Seventeen studies were analyzed, predominantly cross-sectional and preclinical. The main findings were favorable biological effects, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and nutritional effects, as well as improvements in hematological and bone parameters and renal function. It is worth noting that a high prevalence of complementary therapy use was observed in patients already undergoing hemodialysis, associated with a positive perception of well-being and self-care practices. Risks related to the unsupervised use of these therapies were also identified.