Search

Positional plagiocephaly (PP) is a general term describing cranial distortion from pre- or postnatal forces on the infant head. Abnormal intrauterine forces, multiple births, primiparous mothers, obstetric interventions, prematurity, male sex, excessive time lying in the supine position, and mobility restrictions of the cervical spine have been considered as the main predisposing factors. The objective was to investigate the association between the severity of PP and the active cervical rotation and to analyze the influence of predisposing factors in babies with PP. An analytical cross-sectional study was performed on 74 babies with moderate PP. Clinical and demographic data, cranial vault asymmetry, and active cervical rotation range of motion (ROM) were measured. Associations were analyzed with generalized linear models. The mean age was 16.8 ± 5.0 weeks, and 56.8% were male. A restriction in the ROM of active cervical rotation, especially to the left side, was observed. Our models showed that cranial asymmetry was related with left active cervical rotation ROM (p = 0.034) and with being transported in a pushchair (p < 0.001). Conclusions: An increased severity of PP was related with being transported in a baby pushchair and with a reduced active cervical rotation ROM toward the most restricted side.

(1) Background: anthropometric measurements with calipers are used to objectify cranial asymmetry in positional plagiocephaly but there is controversy regarding the reliability of different methodologies. Purpose: to analyze the interrater and intrarater reliability of direct anthropometric measurements with caliper on defined craniofacial references in infants with positional plagiocephaly. (2) Methods: 62 subjects ( 0.9. Intrarater and interrater reliability for the left cranial diagonal was excellent: ICC > 0.9 and difference in agreement in the Bland-Altman plot 0.0 mm, respectively. Intrarater and interrater reliability for the maximal cranial circumference was good: differences in agreement in Bland-Altman plots: intra: −0.03 cm; inter: −0.12 cm. (4) Conclusions: anthropometric measurements in a sample of infants with moderate positional plagiocephaly have shown excellent intra- and interrater reliability for maximal cranial length, maximal cranial width, and right and left cranial diagonals, and good intra- and interrater reliability in maximal cranial circumference measurement.