Management of Non-Tropical Sprue: Medical vs Osteopathic

Editor’s note: We have found a great article to present “from the archives” in this issue. Dr Doran A. Farnum, DO, takes us through an extensive review of multiple diseases which cause signs and symptoms of intestinal malfunction. This is taken from the 1967 yearbook of the Academy of Applied Osteopathy, and although molecular biology has certainly advanced, the majority of the clinical symptoms, signs, and known findings have not. In addition, for several of these diseases, the treatments have advanced only minimally. Dr Farnum did an excellent job of using a case to review the osteopathic findings in regards to both structural and viscerosomatic changes and associated treatments as well as Chapman’s reflexes, and he brings together multiple references to the research and thinking of the time. I was somewhat amused that the patient was not allowed to drink coffee or eat pork, but tea and Sanka were okay. Please enjoy Dr Farnum’s article.

This article has been edited to conform to The AAO Journal’s current style and to standardize spelling and punctuation.

When he retired in November 2013, Dr Farnum had been California’s oldest physician with an active medical license and the oldest member of both the American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO) and the American Osteopathic Association still in practice.

Dr Farnum died April 30, 2015, at age 103. Learn more about Dr Farnum in the May 2015 issue of AAO Member News.