"Neurocognitive Outcomes in Deformational Plagiocephaly: Is There an Association between Morphologic Severity and Results? "
The neurodevelopmental impact of skull asymmetry and orthotic helmet therapy for deformational plagiocephaly (DP) have had limited investigation. This study assessed the long-term neurocognitive outcomes in DP patients and their association with orthotic helmet therapy and head shape abnormality. 13...
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Published in | Plastic and reconstructive surgery (1963) |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
01.09.2023
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Online Access | Get more information |
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Summary: | The neurodevelopmental impact of skull asymmetry and orthotic helmet therapy for deformational plagiocephaly (DP) have had limited investigation. This study assessed the long-term neurocognitive outcomes in DP patients and their association with orthotic helmet therapy and head shape abnormality.
138 School-age children with a history of DP of whom 108 received helmet therapy were tested with a neurocognitive battery assessing academic achievement, intelligence quotient, and visual-motor function. Severity of presenting plagiocephaly was calculated using anthropometric and photometric measurements. Analysis of covariance was used to compare outcomes between helmeted and non-helmeted cohorts, unilateral plagiocephaly and concomitant brachycephaly, and left and right-sided plagiocephaly. The association between severity of plagiocephaly and neurocognitive outcome was assessed through a residualized change approach.
There were no significant differences in neurocognitive outcomes between the helmeted and non-helmeted DP cohorts or the unilateral plagiocephaly and brachycephaly cohorts. Left-sided DP patients performed significantly worse in motor coordination than right-sided patients (84.8 vs 92.7, ES=-0.50, p=0.03). There was a significant laterality by cephalic index (CI) interaction, with a negative association between CI and reading comprehension and spelling for left-sided patients. No significant associations were found between severity of presenting or post-treatment deformity and neurocognitive outcome.
Pre- and post-treatment severity of plagiocephaly were not correlated with neurocognitive function at school age. Helmet therapy was not associated with better or worse long-term neurocognitive function. However, patients with left-sided DP demonstrated worse neurocognitive outcomes than right-sided patients in the domains of motor coordination and some types of academic achievement. |
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ISSN: | 1529-4242 |
DOI: | 10.1097/PRS.0000000000010330 |