Retrospective Study of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment on Length of Stay and Opioid Use After Vestibular...

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of integrating osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) in the acute postsurgical care of patients after vestibular schwannoma resection.

This retrospective observational cohort study took place at a single tertiary care academic health center with a high-volume vestibular schwannoma program. Adults 18 years or older who underwent primary microsurgical resection of a vestibular schwannoma between November 2017 and October 2021 were included in the study. Patients were grouped by exposure to postoperative OMT, defined as receiving at least 1 OMT session during the postresection admission. The primary outcome measure was total inpatient length of stay (days), and the secondary outcome measures were daily and total opioid use (morphine milligram equivalents).

There were 502 patients included in this study, 284 (57%) received OMT during their postresection hospitalization. The 2 groups were similar in demographics (except race, P = 0.03), health history, tumor size, surgical approaches, and postoperative course. Patients who received postoperative OMT had a significantly shorter hospital length of stay compared to patients who did not receive OMT (OMT: 3.42 ± 1.41 days, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.26-3.59; no OMT: 3.96 ± 2.35 days, 95% CI: 3.65-4.28; F_(1,501) = 10.29, P = 0.001). The OMT group had a significantly lower daily opioid consumption over time (F_(1,1382) = 31.00, P < 0.001).

Receiving OMT after vestibular schwannoma resection is associated with a shorter length of stay and less daily opioid use.