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Effect of helmet therapy in the treatment of positional head deformity
Author(s) -
Wen Juan,
Qian Jun,
Zhang Lei,
Ji Chenbo,
Guo Xirong,
Chi Xia,
Tong Meiling
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/jpc.14717
Subject(s) - brachycephaly , medicine , plagiocephaly , deformity , cranial vault , retrospective cohort study , surgery , pediatrics , skull
Aim Most positional head deformities can be treated conservatively with postural correction training or a head orthosis (‘helmet’). We aimed to investigate whether infants with helmet therapy have cosmetic improvement in head deformity. Methods A total of 376 infants at age 2–40 months who were diagnosed with mild–moderate–severe positional head deformity were enrolled. Among these infants, 101 infants were treated with helmet therapy or postural correction training. After matching by infant's age and time of therapy, three retrospective cohort studies of 56 infants were conducted for infants with plagiocephaly, brachycephaly and asymmetrical brachycephaly, respectively. The cephalic ratio (CR), radial symmetry index (RSI), cranial vault asymmetry (CVA) and cranial vault asymmetry index (CVAI) were compared between two groups before and after treatment. Results Before treatment, no significant differences in CR, RSI, CVA and CVAI between groups were found. After treatment, compared with the postural correction training group, the helmet therapy group had significant improvements in CR, RSI, CVA or CVAI (Plagiocephaly: P CVA = 0.017, P CVAI = 0.028; Brachycephaly: P CR = 0.002; Asymmetrical brachycephaly: P RSI = 0.002, P CVA < 0.001, P CVAI < 0.001). Moreover, there was no significant difference in head circumference growth between the groups. Conclusions Helmet therapy may be more effective in the treatment of mild–moderate–severe positional head deformity than postural correction training in infants. And helmet therapy may not hinder head circumference growth.