Chiropractic Care of a Pediatric Patient Suffering from Recurrent Otitis Media and Respiratory Syncytial Virus: a Retrospective Case Report
Francesca M. Marino, B.S., D.C. Bio & Awais Butt, D.C. Bio
Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic ~ December 22, 2010 ~ Pages 183-186
Abstract
Objective: To describe the chiropractic care of a pediatric patient suffering from recurrent otitis media (OM) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Clinical Features: A twenty-one-month-old girl presented with previous diagnoses of OM and RSV. As an infant she was not breastfed. She was diagnosed with her first ear infection when she was one- month-old and RSV at nine months. Her pediatrician managed the ear infection with oral antibiotics and managed the RSV with a bronchodilator via nebulizer. The patient’s mother brought her daughter to the chiropractor because she was frustrated by the length of time in which her child had been ill and was not comfortable with the prescribed allopathic care plan. After a thorough pediatric examination, the chiropractor, using Diversified chiropractic analysis, located subluxations at the level of the pelvis and atlas.
Intervention and Outcomes: The patient received low-force, high-velocity chiropractic adjustments as needed, three times a week for three months. After the first month of chiropractic care, the child’s mother reported that she discontinued the use of oral antibiotics because there was no recurrence of OM. This was an improvement as it previously occurred twice monthly for the last year-and-a-half. By the end of three months of chiropractic care, nebuilzer treatments for RSV ceased. The patient has since remained symptom free and continues to get her spine checked weekly as a wellness patient.
Conclusions: This report describes the successful treatment of OM and RSV in a pediatric patient, using Diversified chiropractic technique. It is uncertain whether the chiropractic care by itself caused the child’s favorable immune response or if other factors played a role in resolving her conditions. Despite this uncertainty, the clinically relevant objective findings are substantial to warrant more research pertaining to the chiropractic care of pediatric patients.
Key Words: Chiropractic, Vertebral Subluxation, Pediatric, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, RSV, Otitis media
