Pelvic Palpatory Tests in Manual Therapy and Osteopathy: A Critical Review of the Literature and Suggestions for New Research.

Manual therapists apply physical interventions to the entire structure of the body to promote healing, prevent pathologies, and improve patient health. In osteopathic practice, palpatory evaluation is considered a fundamental clinical practice requirement for identifying somatic dysfunction. Most of the articles published in this area have failed to demonstrate a level of reproducibility that supports palpation in evidence-based clinical practice. When considering the poor reliability of the palpatory tests highlighted in the literature, a discrepancy is noted with what is known about the tactile sensitivity of human hands. For static touch, the minimum size that can be detected, in the absence of applied movement or vibration, is approximately 0.2 mm. Yet, it seems that this high level of precision is insufficient to ensure reliability in the tests used to evaluate osteopathic somatic dysfunction. The purpose that underscores this article is to determine how these two contradictory elements, high sensitivity and low reliability, can be present in palpatory tests. The article reports the literature findings regarding palpatory tests of pelvic, which is an important structure for clinical purposes. Additionally, a critical review of how these studies were conducted is provided to identify any elements that may justify the obtained results. Following recent accredited guidelines present in the literature, we propose suggestions on vision training methods, manual perception refinement training, the search for anatomical markers, and the position of the examiner in relation to the examinee that may be useful for future studies on the topic covered by the article.

[ANMCO Position paper: States General 2023 - Digital medicine in cardiology: evidence and state of progress in Italy]. / Position paper ANMCO: Stati Generali 2023 ­ La medicina digitale in cardiologia: evidenze e stato di avanzamento in Italia.

Technological innovation provides easily accessible tools capable of simplifying healthcare processes. Notably, digital technology application in the cardiology field can improve prognosis, reduce costs, and lead to an overall improvement in healthcare. The digitization of health data, with the use of electronic health records and of electronic health files in Italy, represents one of the fields of application of digital technologies in medicine. The 2023 States General of the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists (ANMCO) provided an opportunity to focus attention on the potential benefits and critical issues associated with the implementation of the aforementioned digital tools, artificial intelligence, and telecardiology. This document summarizes key aspects that emerged during the event.