Decreased skull growth in positional plagiocephaly patients undergoing helmet therapy - Research article overview

Q: What does the study investigate regarding helmet therapy in positional plagiocephaly patients?

The study assesses percentile escape in head circumference growth in newborns receiving helmet therapy, using head measurements from 3D scans and LMS-based percentile calculations.

Q: How was head circumference growth evaluated in the study?

All included patients underwent helmet therapy for an average duration, with 3D scans taken before, during, and after treatment. Percentiles were calculated using the LMS method with reference data from the KiGGS study.

Q: What were the main findings after helmet therapy?

Median head-circumference percentiles decreased significantly after treatment, indicating a substantial reduction in circumferential growth. Clinical examination also showed developmental progress consistent with the respective ages.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Patrick

Helmet treatment is used worldwide to improve motor function, quality of life and aesthetics in infants with positional plagiocephaly. This study evaluates percentile escape in head circumference growth in newborns receiving helmet therapy, using 3D scans taken before, during and after treatment. In 272 patients, helmet therapy significantly lowered head-circumference percentiles based on the LMS method, while clinical examination showed developmental progress consistent with age.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction and objective

Research question

Material and methods

Results

Head circumference percentiles

Developmental progress

Discussion and conclusion

Brain and Spine 6 (2026) 105909 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Brain and Spine journal [homepage:](homepage: www.journals.elsevier.com/brain-and-spine)[ www.journals.elsevier.com/brain-and-spine](homepage: www.journals.elsevier.com/brain-and-spine) | Decreased skull growth in positional plagiocephaly patients undergoing helmet therapy
Maximilian Lindemann a,1, Donjete¨ Januzia,1,2, Sabine Borowski b , Anne Neumeister a , Denise Lo¨schnera,3, Daniel Dubinski c , Peter Huppkeb , Christian Senft a ,
Peter Baumgarten a,*,2
a Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Jena, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany b Department of Pediatric Neurology, University Hospital Jena, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany c Department of Neurosurgery, University Medicine Rostock, Rostock, Germany | | | | --- | --- | --- | | A R T I C L E I N F O | | A B S T R A C T | | Handling Editor: Dr W Peul | | Introduction: Helmet treatment is a worldwide acknowledged method to improve motor function, quality of life and aesthetics in patients with plagiocephaly.
Research question: The objective of this study is to assess percentile escape in head circumference in newborns receiving helmet therapy (HMT) for plagiocephaly.
Material and methods: All patients underwent HMT over 124.32 days on average (SD = 72.56), with 3D scans (Rodin4D neo) taken of their heads before, during and after the treatment. Eight participants were excluded due to insufficient data. Ten patients were excluded for either craniosynostosis or discontinuation of helmet therapy.“German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents” (KiGGS study) served as reference for the assessment of head circumference growth. Percentiles were calculated using the LMS-method. Results: Out of 272 patients (94 females, 178 males), 238 had suitable parameters for the LMS-method. The average age at the onset of therapy was 5.99 (SD = 2.23) months, concluding at 10.06 months (SD = 3.01). The median percentile before HMT was 50.00 (SD = 39.5), which decreased significantly to 25.00 (SD = 33.84) after HMT (p < 0.001). Only 59 patients showed percentile adherence during the treatment. The mean difference in head circumference was 21.51 mm (SD = 14.81), ranging from − 44.4 mm to 69.1 mm. Clinical examination revealed that the patients exhibit developmental progress consistent with respective ages.
Discussion and conclusion: Significant decrease in head circumferential growth was observed following HMT. Eventhough patients did not show clinical signs of raised ICP, to ascertain the clinical relevance of this percentile escape, conducting longer follow-ups involving a larger cohort of patients is crucial. | | Keywords:
Helmet therapy Plagiocephaly Cranial deformity | | | 1. Introduction and objective Since 1992, the incidence of positional head deformities has increased up to 20 %(Peitsch et al., 2002; van Vlimmeren et al., 2017; Ifflaender et al., 2013). One study reported an increase in prevalence from 5 % to 46 % at the age of 7 months (Santiago et al., 2023). This phenomenon can be explained by the “back-to-sleep” campaign during that year, which emphasized the importance of supine sleeping position for infants to prevent sudden infant death (Goldman, 1994; Turk et al., 1996), which might lead to a one-sided flattening of the head, termed positional plagiocephaly and describes a parallelogram-like shape of the skull, whereby the occipital flattening and the frontal bossing are never equal (Rogers, 2011). Positional preference, breech birth, and assisted delivery are risk factors associated with a significantly higher prevalence of plagiocephaly (van Cruchten et al., 2021; Ifflaender et al., 2013; Aarnivala et al., 2016; Leung et al., 2016). Additionally, in hypotonic or ”floppy„ infants, the lack of active head control and delayed motoric development * Corresponding author. Department of Neurosurgery, Universi

FAQs

What does the study investigate regarding helmet therapy in positional plagiocephaly patients?

The study assesses percentile escape in head circumference growth in newborns receiving helmet therapy, using head measurements from 3D scans and LMS-based percentile calculations.

How was head circumference growth evaluated in the study?

All included patients underwent helmet therapy for an average duration, with 3D scans taken before, during, and after treatment. Percentiles were calculated using the LMS method with reference data from the KiGGS study.

What were the main findings after helmet therapy?

Median head-circumference percentiles decreased significantly after treatment, indicating a substantial reduction in circumferential growth. Clinical examination also showed developmental progress consistent with the respective ages.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Patrick