Is Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) Beneficial for Elderly Patients Hospitalized With Pneumonia?

A.T. Still University of Health Sciences406 enrolled

Overview

Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) were used in the 1800s and 1900s to treat pneumonia before the introduction of antibiotics in the mid-1900s. The purpose of this study is to determine if OMT, when used in conjunction with antibiotics and other usual care, will improve the recovery of elderly pneumonia patients.

This study is a multi-center study conducted across five sites in the United States to determine the efficacy of combining Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment(OMT)with antibiotics as a treatment regimen for elderly patients with pneumonia. The study is a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial, in which 360 subjects will be randomly assigned to three different groups to test the primary hypothesis that the combination of OMT and antibiotics will decrease the length of hospital stay for elderly patients with pneumonia. The first group (OMT Group) will receive a series of eight osteopathic manipulative techniques in combination with conventional antibiotic care. The second group (Light Touch Control Group) will receive a light touch mimic treatment in combination with conventional antibiotic care to control for the doctor-patient interaction. The third group (Conventional Care Only Group) will receive only the conventional antibiotic care normally given to elderly patients with pneumonia. The first two groups will receive two 15-20 minute treatments per day, at least six hours apart, for the duration of their stay in the acute care facility. The primary outcomes for measuring efficacy are: Length of Hospital Stay, Time to Clinical Stability, and Rate of Symptomatic and Functional Recovery. The secondary outcomes are: duration of IV and oral antibiotic usage in the hospital, number of complications and deaths secondary to pneumonia, re-admission rate within 60 days of hospitalization admission date, duration and severity of fever, duration and severity of leukocytosis, and patient satisfaction.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

406

Conditions

Pneumonia

Interventions

Osteopathic Manipulative TreatmentPROCEDURE

In addition to conventional treatment for pneumonia, a 10-minute standardized OMT protocol + 5-minute nonstandardized component was performed twice daily for the duration of hospitalization.

Light-touch TreatmentPROCEDURE

In addition to conventional treatment for pneumonia, a 10-minute standardized light-touch protocol (designed to mimic OMT standardized protocol) + 5-minute auscultation of carotid bruits, heart, and lungs was performed twice daily for the duration of hospitalization.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 50 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * 50 Years old or older * Subject is hospitalized in an acute care facility * Subject must exhibit at least two of the classic symptoms of pneumonia, to include: * Respiration Rate greater than or equal to 25 respirations per minute * New or increased cough * Fever greater than or equal to 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C) * Pleuritic chest pain * Worsening of mental or functional status * Leukocytosis (WBC greater than 12,000 cells per cubic millimeter) * New or increased physical findings (rales, wheezing, bronchial breath sounds) Exclusion Criteria: * Lung abscess * Advancing pulmonary fibrosis * Bronchiectasis * Pulmonary tuberculosis * Lung Cancer * Metastatic malignancy * Uncontrolled metabolic bone disease that places subject at risk for pathologic bone fracture (i.e. Paget's Disease or hypoparathyroidism) * Acute or unhealed rib or vertebral fracture * History of pathologic bone fracture * Previous participants as subject in the study * Respiratory failure (intubation)

Locations (7)

Mount Clemens General Hospital

Mount Clemens, Michigan, United States

Northeast Regional Medical Center

Kirksville, Missouri, United States

UNDNJ in association with Kennedy Memorial Hospitals- University Medical Center

Stratford, New Jersey, United States

Doctors Hospital

Columbus, Ohio, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Length of Hospital Stay

Number of days from admission order to discharge order

Time frame: End of hospital stay

Time to Clinical Stability

Halm EA, Fine MJ, Marrie TJ, Coley CM, Kapoor WN, Obrosky DS, et al.: Time to clinical stability in patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia: implications for practice guidelines. JAMA 1998, 279:1452-1457

Time frame: Daily for the duration of the hospital stay

Symptomatic and Functional Recovery Score

Metlay JP, Fine MJ, Schulz R, Marrie TJ, Coley CM, Kapoor WN, et al.: Measuring symptomatic and functional recovery in patients with communityacquired pneumonia. J Gen Intern Med 1997, 12:423-430

Time frame: 14, 30, and 60 days post-admission

Secondary Outcomes

Duration of IV and oral antibiotic usage in the hospital

Number of complications and deaths secondary to pneumonia

Duration and severity of fever

Duration and severity of leukocytosis

Patient Satisfaction

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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