• Charles E Mackel, Michael Bonnar, Heather Keeny, Bethany M Lipa, and Steven W Hwang.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, USA.
• Pediatr Neurosurg. 2017 Jan 1; 52 (5): 318-322.

Background/AimsTo characterize the impact of cranial asymmetry and age at initiation of therapy on final cranial asymmetry in infants with deformational plagiocephaly treated with helmet orthotics.MethodsWe conducted a single-center retrospective review of 45 pediatric patients <12 months of age with deformational plagiocephaly who underwent STARband cranial orthotic helmet treatment. Cranial asymmetry was measured using a 3-dimensional laser surface scanner and defined as a cranial vault asymmetry index (CVAI) >3.5%.ResultsTwenty-one patients (47%) were <6 months of age at the start of helmet therapy. A greater initial CVAI or age at therapy initiation correlated with a greater final CVAI (univariate analysis, r = 0.53, p < 0.001; r = 0.42, p = 0.004). Subgroup analysis of 18 patients beginning therapy at 4-5 months of age and 20 patients beginning therapy at 6-8 months of age revealed that only a change in the initial CVAI was associated with a change in the final CVAI (r = 0.43, p = 0.007).ConclusionIn a comparison of patients who initiated helmet therapy at 4-5 and 6-8 months of age, only cranial asymmetry at the outset of therapy was correlated with final cranial asymmetry (r = 0.43, p = 0.007).© 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

20 keywords...

hide…