Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41749584›Full record

ArticleChildren (Basel, Switzerland)2026

Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment in 564 Children with Congenital Heart Disease: A Project Report.

Marco Petracca, Matteo Turinetto, Paola Sciomachen, Francesca Baroni, Christian Lunghi, Alessandro Accorsi, Mauro Longobardi, Ragini Pandey, Marco Pozzi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Children (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Marco PetraccaRegistry of Osteopaths of Italy, 20149 Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-1352-2804
Matteo TurinettoRegistry of Osteopaths of Italy, 20149 Milan, Italy.
Paola SciomachenRegistry of Osteopaths of Italy, 20149 Milan, Italy.
Francesca BaroniRegistry of Osteopaths of Italy, 20149 Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-5083-989X
Christian LunghiRegistry of Osteopaths of Italy, 20149 Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-0673-6241
Alessandro AccorsiRegistry of Osteopaths of Italy, 20149 Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-4682-9335
Mauro LongobardiRegistry of Osteopaths of Italy, 20149 Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-3270-4016
Ragini PandeyDepartment of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery, Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Center for Child Heart Care, Atal Nagar (Naya Raipur) 492101, India.
Marco PozziDepartment of Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgery and Cardiology, Ospedali Riuniti, 60126 Ancona, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCongenital heart diseases are the most common congenital malformations, affecting 4 to 9 per 1000 children, with increasing global prevalence. As surgical mortality rates decline, the focus has shifted toward improving the quality of life and perioperative outcomes for pediatric patients. Multidisciplinary rehabilitation, including osteopathic care, is increasingly incorporated into recovery programs. Osteopathic manipulative treatment combines manual techniques with lifestyle guidance to alleviate postoperative pain and promote recovery. This project report describes the impact of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) on pain and somatic dysfunctions in hospitalized pediatric cardiac patients, using validated pain assessment tools. It presents a retrospective analysis of data collected as part of a humanitarian volunteer project.

methodsThe project report follows a retrospective descriptive study design, using patient note forms from children aged 0-18 years undergoing cardiac surgery at the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Center in India between October 2023 and March 2024. A total of 29 experienced osteopaths recorded pain assessments at three time points-pre-surgery, post-surgery, and pre-discharge-using age-appropriate pain scales (FLACC, Wong-Baker Faces, and Numerical Rating Scale). Somatic dysfunctions were evaluated and classified using ICD-10 M99 codes. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and pre-post comparisons using statistical software (Excel and OPENEPI).

resultsThe study included 564 children (60.5% male, mean age 5.8 ± 4.3 years). The most common congenital defects were ventricular septal defects (38.5%) and tetralogy of Fallot (21.6%). The average hospital stay was 15.9 ± 11.1 days. Significant reductions in pain scores were observed from the Intensive Care Unit to the postoperative ward (

conclusionsThis project report indicates that osteopathic manipulative treatment is safe and feasible for pediatric patients undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease. Pain scores and somatic dysfunction severity decreased during hospitalization. However, the lack of a control group, the heterogeneity of the patient population, and the short observation period limit the ability to draw causal conclusions. These findings provide a descriptive framework for integrating OMT into multidisciplinary pediatric cardiac care. Future studies should involve prospective, multicenter designs with control groups and longer follow-up periods to assess clinical, functional, developmental, and quality-of-life outcomes.

Indexed as

congenital heart diseaselength of staymusculoskeletal painosteopathic hospitalsosteopathic manipulationosteopathic medicinepain managementpediatric intensive care unitsquaternary preventionsecondary preventiontertiary prevention

Identifiers

PMID41749584
PMCPMC12939463

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.