A Novel Prophylactic Device Against Head Deformity to Prevent Severe Positional Plagiocephaly

TL;DR

A new device was developed to prevent head deformities in infants and was found to reduce the risk of severe positional plagiocephaly by 3 months of age.

Contribution

A novel prophylactic device was developed and shown to effectively prevent severe positional plagiocephaly in infants.

Findings

The prophylactic device group had significantly lower cranial asymmetry and CVAI compared to the control group.

The device significantly reduced the number of infants with severe positional plagiocephaly.

No significant differences were found in device effectiveness when used immediately after birth or at the 1-month checkup.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Preventing head deformity in the early postnatal period could avert positional plagiocephaly (PP). Accordingly, we developed a novel prophylactic device to prevent head deformity and examined its impact on the incidence of PP and prevention of severe PP at 3 months of age. Methods: The newly developed prophylactic device was used immediately after birth or at the 1-month checkup, and cranial shape was measured before device application and at 3 months of age. The diagnostic threshold for PP was >5% for cranial vault asymmetry index (CVAI); cranial asymmetry (CA) of ≥13 mm was deemed severe. A database comprising cranial geometry of 3-month-old healthy Japanese infants (n = 110) served as the control. Results: This study included 42 infants who started using the novel prophylactic device immediately after birth or at the 1-month checkup. Measurements at 3 months of age revealed that the prophylactic device group had significantly lower CA and CVAI than the control group (CA [median]: 5.5 vs. 8.0, respectively, p = 0.007; CVAI: 4.3 vs. 5.8, respectively, p = 0.048). However, the PP prevalence did not differ significantly between the two groups (41% vs. 57%, respectively, p = 0.094). The number of infants with severe PP was significantly lower in the prophylactic device group than in the control group (0% vs. 14%, respectively; p = 0.012). At 3 months of age, no significant differences in CA or CVAI were observed between the immediate postnatal and 1-month groups. Conclusions: The novel prophylactic device against head deformity could prevent severe PP.

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