Abstract

This report describes the case of a 66-year-old afebrile woman seen on the hospital inpatient service with nausea, vomiting, bloating, and constipation for 5 days prior to admission. The patient was diagnosed with idiopathic acute small bowel pseudo-obstruction by gastroenterology.

The epidemiology of acute small-bowel pseudo-obstruction is briefly reviewed. Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) was performed on the patient using mostly abdominal and visceral manipulation techniques.

This case represents the first report of imaging evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of osteopathic visceral manipulation techniques in successfully treating patients who have acute intestinal pseudo-obstruction.