Standardization of Cranial Index Measurement in Sagittal Craniosynostosis.

Abstract

This is a retrospective comparative study of 2 methods of measuring cranial index; the traditional method that measures the skull length from glabella to opithcranion versus a modified method that measures the maximal skull length from the most anterior point of the frontal bossing to opithcranion. Cranial indices for 115 patients of radiologically and clinically diagnosed nonsyndromic sagittal craniosynostosis were calculated using both methods. Correlation and Agreements Limits were calculated for comparison between the 2 methods. Males constituted 74.8% (n = 86) of the total sample size with the remaining 29 participants identified as female. The mean age of the study participants was 4.8 months (range 8 days-12 months). The 2 methods were strongly correlated (r = 0.94). The Agreement Limits were calculated to be between 4.02% and 0.18%. Typical anatomical changes such as variable degrees of frontal and occipital bossing influence the accuracy of cranial index measurement in sagittal craniosynostosis. Traditional method of cephalic index measurement could underestimate the severity of scaphocephaly.