Comparison of Helmet Therapy and Counter Positioning for Deformational Plagiocephaly

OBJECTIVE: To compare effectiveness on correcting cranial and ear asymmetry between helmet therapy and counter positioning for deformational plagiocephaly (DP). METHODS: Retrospective data of children diagnosed with DP who visited our clinic from November 2010 to October 2012 were reviewed. Subjects or =10 mm of diagonal difference were included for analysis. For DP treatment, information on both helmet therapy and counter positioning was given and either of the two was chosen by each family. Head circumference, cranial asymmetry measurements including diagonal difference, cranial vault asymmetry index, radial symmetry index, and ear shift were obtained by 3-dimensional head-surface laser scan at the time of initiation and termination of therapy. RESULTS: Twenty-seven subjects were included: 21 had helmet therapy and 6 underwent counter positioning. There was no significant difference of baseline characteristics, head circumferences and cranial asymmetry measurements at the initiation of therapy. The mean duration of therapy was 4.30+/-1.27 months in the helmet therapy group and 4.08+/-0.95 months in the counter positioning group (p=0.770). While cranial asymmetry measurements improved in both groups, significantly more improvement was observed with helmet therapy. There was no significant difference of the head circumference growth between the two groups at the end of therapy. CONCLUSION: Helmet therapy resulted in more favorable outcomes in correcting cranial and ear asymmetry than counter positioning on moderate to severe DP without compromising head growth.

Comparison of Clinical Severity of Congenital Muscular Torticollis Based on the Method of Child Birth

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical severity of congenital muscular torticollis (CMT) based on the method of child birth. METHOD: Children diagnosed with CMT and who were or =6-months-of-age at the time of the first visit. RESULTS: One hundred seventy eight subjects with CMT were enrolled. There was no significant difference in the rate of surgical release according to the method of child birth. For 132 patients <6-month-of-age there was also no significant difference in the rate of stretching exercises. CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in the clinical severity of CMT based on the method of child birth. This finding suggests that prenatal factors alone could be a cause of CMT and that the clinical severity of CMT in children delivered by Cesarean section is not different when compared with the severity of CMT in children born through vaginal delivery.

Concurrence of Obstetric Brachial Plexus Injury, Congenital Muscular Torticollis and Cleft Palate

A male infant was diagnosed with obstetric brachial plexus injury, congenital muscular torticollis and cleft palate 17 days after birth. His mother presented with gestational diabetes and premature rupture of membranes. Although it is possible that these three disorders arose independently, it is very likely that all three have the same etiologic cause, and we propose that a possible mechanism for this concurrence is related to maternal gestational diabetes. Maternal hyperglycemia mostly affects fetal structures deriving from the neural crest, including the palatine bone, and may have caused the cleft palate observed in this case. Gestational diabetes is also associated with increased frequency of large for gestational age infants and, by extension, with increased risk of birth injuries such as obstetric brachial plexus injury or congenital muscular torticollis associated with large for gestational age infants. Since the children of mothers with gestational diabetes are at increased risk for congenital defects such as cleft palate as well as being large for gestational age, precautions indicated for each respective disorder must be taken during prenatal testing and during birth. However, further studies of more cases are required to evaluate whether the concurrence of obstetric brachial plexus injury, congenital muscular torticollis and cleft palate in this case are complications specifically associated with gestational diabetes or just a simple coincidence.