A comprehensive multi-center randomized single blind parallel group clinical trial was published in PLOS One in 2015 by Francesco Cerritelli and colleagues. The authors investigated the effect of osteopathy on clinical outcomes in hospitalized preterm infants (gestational age between 29 and 37 weeks). A total of 695 newborns received either osteopathic manipulative treatment (n=352) or usual prenatal care (n=343). In the osteopathic manipulative treatment group, the length of hospital stay was significantly reduced by 3.9 days and the treatment costs by 1,586.01€. Daily weight gain, on the other hand, did not differ between groups. Furthermore, no complications were reported. The authors concluded that osteopathic manipulative treatment significantly reduces hospitalization days of preterm infants cost-effectively in a large cohort. Especially for pediatric osteopaths, this study might represent a solid scientific support in everyday clinical practice.
Cerritelli, F., Pizzolorusso, G., Renzetti, C., Cozzolino, V., D’Orazio, M., Lupacchini, M., Marinelli, B., Accorsi, A., Lucci, C., Lancellotti, J., Ballabio, S., Castelli, C., Molteni, D., Besana, R., Tubaldi, L., Perri, F.P., Fusilli, P., D’Incecco, C., Barlafante, G., 2015. A multicenter, randomized, controlled trial of osteopathic manipulative treatment on preterms. PLOS One, 10(5).