COMPUTER-TOMOGRAPHY DETERMINED INTRACRANIAL VOLUME OF INFANTS WITH DEFORMATIONAL PLAGIOCEPHALY - A USEFUL NORMAL

Over the last 10 years, children with deformational (nonsynostotic) pl agiocephaly have undergone computed tomography scans using the same pr otocols as children with lambdoid craniosynostosis because of their si milarly distorted head shapes. These children are believed to have nor mal intracranial volume. Given the recent questioning of what is the n ormal range of intracranial volume in human populations, the authors h ave undertaken a comparison of the intracranial volume of children wit h deformational plagiocephaly and Lichtenberg's normal population (Lic htenberg R. Radiographie du crane de 226 enfants normaux de la naissan ce a 8 ans: Impressions digitiformes, capacite, angles et indices [the sis]. Paris: University of Paris, 1960). The intracranial volume was d etermined for 20 females and 46 males with deformational plagiocepahly ranging in age from 2.5 to 20.7 months using computed tomography scan data. Although no significant differences were found for the females, the authors found that the intracranial volume of the males with defo rmational plagiocephaly were significantly larger than Lichtenberg's p opulation. The authors conclude that this is because Lichtenberg's dat a do not adequately reflect the normal range of intracranial volume fo r males ranging in age from 2.5 to 20.7 months, rather than gender dif ferences associated with deformational plagiocephaly. Further, until a more suitable normal becomes available, the deformational (nonsynosto tic) plagiocephaly data could be used as substitute normal reference m aterial in the measured age range for assessment of the intracranial v olumes of children with craniosynostosis.