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.

Objective. To determine if antibiotic regimens including azithromycin versus erythromycin has an impact on pregnancy latency and development of clinical chorioamnionitis in the context of preterm prelabor rupture of membranes. Study Design. We conducted a prospective observational cohort study and followed all women receiving antibiotic regimens including either azithromycin or erythromycin in the context of preterm prelabor rupture of membranes. Primary outcomes were the duration of pregnancy latency period and development of chorioamnionitis. Secondary outcomes included neonatal sepsis with positive blood culture, cesarean delivery, postpartum endometritis, and meconium-stained amniotic fluid. Results. This study included 310 patients, with 142 receiving the azithromycin regimen and 168 receiving the erythromycin regimen. Patients receiving the azithromycin regimen had a statistically significant advantage in overall rates of clinical chorioamnionitis (13.4% versus 25%, p=0.010), neonatal sepsis (4.9% versus 14.9%, p=0.004), and postpartum endometritis (14.8% versus 31%, p=0.001). In crude and adjusted models, when comparing the azithromycin group with the erythromycin group, a decreased risk was noted for the development of clinical chorioamnionitis, neonatal sepsis, and postpartum endometritis. Pregnancy latency by regimen was not significantly different in crude and adjusted models. Conclusion. Our study suggests that latency antibiotic regimens substituting azithromycin for erythromycin have lower rates and decreased risk of clinical chorioamnionitis, neonatal sepsis, and postpartum endometritis with no difference in pregnancy latency.

Left ventricular outflow tract pseudoaneurysm is an uncommon complication following aortic valve replacement (AVR), occurring most frequently secondary to endocarditis. We present a case of a 47-year-old female with a history of intravenous drug abuse and a past surgical history of two AVRs (2001 and 2009 with aortic root replacement for endocarditis) who presented with symptoms of lower extremity weakness. Subsequent radiologic imaging revealed the presence of a left ventricular outflow tract pseudoaneurysm, which was surgically managed with a homologous conduit.

Variations in precancerous lesions of the uterine cervix are not uniform across races.

No abstract