Straight Back Syndrome
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Julio C. Perez-Downes
A 33-year-old man with a history of hypertension presented to the hospital with a hypertensive emergency. Physical examination revealed a heart rate of 95 beats/min; blood pressure, 216/149 mm Hg; a 3/6 systolic murmur at the second intercostal space on the left, and a limited range of motion of the thoracic spine. Chest computed tomography revealed cardiomegaly, an anteroposterior thoracic diameter of 8.92 cm at the level of T8, and a lateral diameter of 29.8 cm at the level of the diaphragm. These findings were consistent with straight back syndrome (SBS; image A and image B).1
SBS is a congenital condition found incidentally during physical and radiographic evaluation. Diagnostic criteria include a ratio of the anteroposterior to the transverse diameter of less than or equal to 1:31 or a distance of 1.2 cm between the middle of the anterior border of T8 to a vertical line connecting T4 to T12 (image C).2 A pulmonic stenosis murmur was noted, presumed to be caused by compression of the right ventricular outflow tract by the SBS.3 Osteopathic manipulative treatment, such as high-velocity, low-amplitude techniques, may be used to improve somatic dysfunctions associated with this condition.3 No specific treatment is indicated.
References
1. DeLeon ACJr, PerloffJK, TwiggH, MajdM. The straight back syndrome: clinical cardiovascular manifestations. Circulation. 1965;32:193-203. doi:10.1161/01.cir.32.2.193Search in Google Scholar PubMed
2. DaviesMK, MackintoshP, CaytonRM, PageAJ, ShiuMF, LittlerWA. The straight back syndrome. Q J Med. 1980;49(196):443-460.Search in Google Scholar
3. GordonCJ, CoxJP. Straight back syndrome: report of case. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 1983;83(4):317-320.Search in Google Scholar
© 2020 American Osteopathic Association
Articles in the same Issue
- AOA COMMUNICATION
- Official Call: 2020 Annual Business Meeting of the American Osteopathic Association
- LETTER TO THE EDITOR
- LETTER TO THE EDITOR
- ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION
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- Evaluating Financial Conflicts of Interest Among Contributors to Clinical Practice Guidelines of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
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- CASE REPORT
- Sister Mary Joseph Nodule in a Patient With Advanced Prostate Cancer
- Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment and Psychosocial Management of Dysmenorrhea
- CLINICAL IMAGES
- Fitz-Hugh-Curtis Syndrome
- Straight Back Syndrome
Articles in the same Issue
- AOA COMMUNICATION
- Official Call: 2020 Annual Business Meeting of the American Osteopathic Association
- LETTER TO THE EDITOR
- LETTER TO THE EDITOR
- ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION
- Preoperative Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy Improves Postoperative Pain and Reduces Opioid Consumption After Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Prospective Comparative Study
- Novel Dual-Fluorescent Mitophagy Reporter Reveals a Reduced Mitophagy Flux in Type 1 Diabetic Mouse Heart
- Effect of Opioid Prescribing Education for Obstetrics and Gynecology Residents in a Safety-Net Hospital
- Evaluating Financial Conflicts of Interest Among Contributors to Clinical Practice Guidelines of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- CLINICAL PRACTICE
- Osteopathic Physician Mortality in the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1920
- CASE REPORT
- Sister Mary Joseph Nodule in a Patient With Advanced Prostate Cancer
- Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment and Psychosocial Management of Dysmenorrhea
- CLINICAL IMAGES
- Fitz-Hugh-Curtis Syndrome
- Straight Back Syndrome
