新生児・乳児の頭蓋変形

抄録

The cranium of neonates and infants grows soft and large. During this process, the cranium undergoes a multifaceted deformation under the influence of physical pressure and gravity. This deformed cranial shape is calledpositional plagiocephaly and is distinguished from craniosynostosis. In recent years, the number of infants withpositional plagiocephaly has increased due to the recommendation of “back to sleep” to prevent sudden infantdeath syndrome. Our department has established an outpatient clinic for cranial deformity and has been conducting research and treatment of cranial deformity in neonates and infants. We clarified that the prevalence ofpositional plagiocephaly in healthy infants at 1 month of age is approximately 65% and that severe cases exist inapproximately 7% of these infants. Furthermore, 66% of those with severe positional plagiocephaly did not improve after 3 months of natural history. This result suggests the need for appropriate therapeutic intervention. Inaddition, it was possible to predict the severity of cranial deformity at 6 months of age at the severity of cranialdeformity at 1 month of age. The differences in severity at approximately 1 month of age were related to the subsequent natural course. This is a major challenge for neonatologists and pediatricians in the future.