New scaphocephaly severity indices of sagittal craniosynostosis: a comparative study with cranial index quantifications

Abstract

Objective: To describe a novel set of scaphocephaly severity indices (SSIs) for predicting and quantifying head- and skull-shape deformity in children diagnosed with isolated sagittal synostosis (ISS) and compare their sensitivity and specificity with those of the traditional cranial index (CI).

Methods: Computed tomography head scans were obtained from 60 patients diagnosed with ISS and 41 age-matched control patients. Volumetric reformations of the skull and overlying skin were used to trace two-dimensional planes defined in terms of skull-base plane and internal or surface landmarks. For each patient, novel SSIs were computed as the ratio of head width and length as measured on each of these planes. A traditional CI was also calculated and a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was applied to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the proposed indices with those of CI.

Results: Although the CI is a sensitive measure of scaphocephaly, it is not specific and therefore not a suitable predictor of ISS in many practical applications. The SSI-A provides a specificity of 95% at a sensitivity level of 98%, in contrast with the 68% of CI. On average, the sensitivity and specificity of all proposed indices are superior to those of CI.

Conclusions: Measurements of cranial width and length derived from planes that are defined in terms of internal or surface landmarks and skull-base plane produce SSIs that outperform traditional CI measurements.