To the Editor: Following media reports of a complaint to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency regarding a 4-month-old baby’s neck fracture following chiropractic treatment for apparent torticollis,1 the president of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia stated that “not a single serious adverse event has been recorded in the literature (worldwide) involving a qualified chiropractor treating a child since 1992”.2 However, an examination of the medical literature on adverse events related to chiropractic reveals an interesting story. A PubMed search for “chiropractic adverse event(s)” identifies 18 primary research papers since 1992 that could be classified as examining adverse events, none of which were Australian.
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- 1. Medew J, Corderoy A. Chiros warned off treating children. Sydney Morning Herald 2013; 29 Sep. http://www.smh.com.au/national/chiros-warned-off-treating-children-20130928-2ulcx.html (accessed Dec 2013).
- 2. Bramwell N. Surgeon calls on chiropractors to answer over misleading claims. Medical Observer 2013; 1 Oct. http://www.medicalobserver.com.au/news/surgeon-calls-on-chiropractors-to-answer-over-misleading-claims (accessed Feb 2014).
- 3. Haldeman S, Carey P, Townsend M, Papadopoulos C. Clinical perceptions of the risk of vertebral artery dissection after cervical manipulation: the effect of referral bias. Spine J 2002; 2: 334-342.
- 4. Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS, editors. To err is human: building a safer health system. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2000.
- 5. Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Australian open disclosure framework. Sydney: ACSQHC, 2013.
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