Effect of Osteopathic Obstetrical Management on the Duration of Labor in the Inpatient Setting: A Prospective Study and Literature Review.

CONTEXT: Several studies have investigated the effects of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) on labor duration, but the outcomes remain ambiguous. Confounding the relationship between OMT and labor duration is the lack of standardization between treatment settings, gestational ages at the time of treatment, OMT techniques, and overall obstetrical management principles from foundational and modern osteopathic approaches. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of OMT on labor duration when applied in tandem with standard obstetrical management in the inpatient setting. METHODS: This pilot prospective observational study was conducted from June 2017 through September 2017. All patients who received OMT as part of their labor management were included. These patients were matched with controls who did not receive OMT. The OMT protocol involved once-daily administration of suboccipital decompression, thoracic inlet release, rib raising, paraspinal inhibition, and sacral inhibition. Obstetrical decisions regarding labor management were made by 1 senior attending osteopathic obstetrician. Labor management as well as OMT was carried out by osteopathic obstetricians in the OMT group, whereas allopathic obstetricians carried out labor management in the control group. RESULTS: A total of 100 patients were enrolled. Fifty patients who underwent adjunctive OMT in addition to standard labor management were matched to controls who received standard labor management only. Each group was represented by an ethnically diverse population. The mean (SD) labor duration for patients receiving OMT was significantly shorter than the labor duration for controls (11.34 [6.62] hours [range, 1.1-27.0 hours] vs 16.57 [4.39] [range, 1.0-58.8 hours], respectively; P=.03). All other measures studied did not achieve statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy and labor present many musculoskeletal and neurovisceral challenges to obstetrical patients and, to the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to present an effective, efficient, and feasible approach to intrapartum osteopathic obstetrical management in the inpatient setting to reduce labor duration.

Somatic Dysfunction in the Diagnosis of Uncommon Ectopic Pregnancies: Surgical Correlation and Comparison With Related Pathologic Findings.

BACKGROUND: Ectopic pregnancies occur when the implantation of a fertilized ovum occurs outside the endometrial cavity. Such pregnancies occur in approximately 1.5% to 2.0% of all pregnancies and cause 6% of maternal deaths. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate osteopathic structural examination (OSE) findings in patients with ectopic pregnancies of uncommon locations and to establish the utility of these findings in the diagnosis of these ectopic pregnancies. METHODS: In this prospective case series, a focused OSE was performed on each patient with an ectopic pregnancy at her initial presentation after the patient history but before other diagnostic or laboratory tests were performed and surgical treatment was initiated. Chapman reflex points (CRPs) were evaluated pre- and postoperatively. For comparison, patients who had otherwise normal first pregnancies, underwent elective postpartum bilateral tubal ligation, or had simple ovarian cysts were also included and received OSEs. RESULTS: Seven cases with ectopic pregnancies outside the fallopian tube were included. Two primary ovarian pregnancies and 1 heterotopic pregnancy (uterine and ovarian) had somatic dysfunction at the T10-T11 spinal levels and CRPs posterior for the ovary, 1 primary omental pregnancy with somatic dysfunction at the T9-T12 spinal levels and CRPs anterior and posterior for the ileum and jejunum, and 1 tubal pregnancy with somatic dysfunction at the T10-L1 spinal levels and CRPs anterior and posterior for the fallopian tube. Two cornual ectopic pregnancies were not associated with unique findings. These somatic dysfunctions and CRP findings appear to be distinct from those of comparison cases, including first pregnancies at any trimester, simple ovarian cysts, and elective bilateral tubal ligation. CONCLUSION: The OSE findings demonstrated in these cases aided in the final diagnosis and thus can potentially prove helpful in cases of ovarian, tubal, and omental pregnancies to provide clues to abnormal ectopic pregnancy locations where diagnostic imaging results are insufficient or equivocal. Osteopathic structural examinations may allow osteopathic physicians to better prepare for treatment approaches, including surgery.

Osteopathic Approach to the Diagnosis of Appendiceal Mucinous Cystadenocarcinoma Mimicking Primary Ovarian Malignant Neoplasm.

The fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in the United States is ovarian cancer. An estimated 21,980 new cases and 14,270 estimated deaths occurred nationwide in 2014. More than two-thirds of cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed at stage III or IV when the peritoneal cavity or other organs are affected. Primary appendiceal malignant neoplasms may mimic advanced-stage ovarian cancer and can be misdiagnosed because of its presentation as a palpable adnexal mass. The authors describe a 42-year-old woman who was admitted to the department of obstetrics and gynecology to receive treatment for presumed advanced-stage ovarian cancer. She subsequently received a diagnosis of primary pseudomyxoma peritonei metastatic to the ovaries, mimicking a primary ovarian cancer by osteopathic structural examination findings, serum tumor markers, surgical exploration, and histopathologic confirmation.

Management of Acute Isolated Soleal Vein Thrombosis in a Pregnant Patient With an Osteopathic Approach to Evaluation.

In pregnant women, the risk of venous thromboembolism increases 4 to 5 fold over that in nonpregnant women. Deep vein thromboses in the calf occur in approximately 6% of cases, with a 20% incidence of propagation, but new imaging methods suggest a higher rate. Nevertheless, the management of isolated soleal vein thrombosis is currently one of the most debated issues in the field of venous thromboembolism, and a clear set of principles for the management of this unique clinical problem remains undefined. The authors present the case of a 37-year-old woman with a history of recurrent spontaneous abortions and cervical insufficiency who presented with a short cervix and acute right isolated soleal vein thrombosis. Long-term anticoagulantion therapy was recommended. Future studies on the risk of isolated soleal vein thrombosis propagation in the setting of pregnancy are required to identify the most effective treatment options for this clinical problem.