title: Anthropometry of craniosynostosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Anthropometry is becoming a popular method for diagnostics of various diseases in pediatric clinical practice. The aim of this study was to assess the growth changes in craniofacial parameters in patients with craniosynostosis and positional plagiocephaly.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inclusion criteria for the study were presence of craniostenosis or positional plagiocephaly in a patient with at least three anthropometric evaluations at our department. Studied patients were aged from 1.0 month to 2.5 years with median age at the first and last anthropometric evaluation as 1.83 and 25.27 months, respectively. Further anthropometric results in patients older than 2.5 years were excluded from the study. Statistical significance was tested by the Mann-Whitney test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The studied group consisted of 70.5% male patients. The type of craniosynostosis was represented by scaphocephaly in 44.1%, by trigonocephaly in 45.6% and by coronal craniosynostosis in 10.3% of the cases. Cranial index was proven as a suitable parameter for evaluating differences in the trend of growth in craniosynostosis (p<0.001) and also for evaluating post-operative results. Significance was found in width of the head (p=0.038) for scaphocephaly and in length of the head for trigonocephaly (p=0.001) in surgically treated patients. Trend of cranial growth in operated patients copied the curve of the norm but in higher or lower values which depends on the type of prematurely closed suture.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Longitudinal anthropometric follow-up is an objective and measurable method that can accurately non-invasively and non-expensively assess skull growth in pediatric patients with cranial deformity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Surgery, Children's University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia. Electronic address: evalacho@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Štefánková
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Surgery, Children's University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: František
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Horn
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Neščáková
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Surgery, Children's University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kabát
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Surgery, Children's University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petrík
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Surgery, Children's University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Ján
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trnka
mesh_terms: D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003398:Craniosynostoses / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male
keywords: Craniofacial anthropometry; Cranioplasty; Craniosynostosis; Pathological growth