Trial reportEuropean journal of pediatrics2015
Preventing deformational plagiocephaly through parent guidance: a randomized, controlled trial.
Trial report in European journal of pediatrics, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Newborn Head Molding and Later Asymmetries in Follow up (3D Head Shape Modelling)
Efficacy of Pediatric Manual Therapy in the Positional Plagiocephaly
Efficacy of Pediatric Integrative Manual Therapy in Babies With Deformational Plagiocephaly and Congenital Muscular Torticollis
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 89 citations in OpenAlex.
- Guidance strategies for infantile asymmetry prevention: a systematic review.BMC pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of pediatric integrative manual therapy in positional plagiocephaly: a randomized controlled trial.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2021Trial
- The course of skull deformation from birth to 5 years of age: a prospective cohort study.European journal of pediatrics · 2017Trial
- Therapeutic efficacy of individual head orthoses in infants with positional plagiocephaly.Journal of orofacial orthopedics = Fortschritte der Kieferorthopadie : Organ/official journal Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Kieferorthopadie · 2026Article
- Prevalence and Temporal Trends of Deformational Plagiocephaly and Brachycephaly in Finland: A Population-Based Register Study.The Journal of craniofacial surgery · 2026Article
- Observational
- Focus on physiotherapy and manual therapy for infants in Norway, a cross-sectional study on referral practice, and planned interventions.BMC pediatrics · 2025Observational
- Spinal mobilization in infants reconsidered.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2025Article
- Author response to Eric Saedt "Spinal mobilization in infants reconsidered".The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2025Article
- [Multidisciplinary approach to treatment of positional cranial asymmetry in infants].Orthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- A longitudinal study of facial asymmetry in a normal birth cohort up to 6 years of age and the predisposing factors.European journal of orthodontics · 2023Article
- Cranial Shape Measurements Obtained Using a Caliper and Elastic Bands Are Useful for Brachycephaly and Deformational Plagiocephaly Screening.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Article
- Physiotherapy as a Specific and Purposeful Form of Physical Activity in Children with Idiopathic Body Asymmetry.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Cranial Shape in Infants Aged One Month Can Predict the Severity of Deformational Plagiocephaly at the Age of Six Months.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Risk factors associated with positional plagiocephaly in healthy Iranian infants: a case-control study.Iranian journal of child neurology · 2022Article
- Do Infant Motor Skills Mediate the Association Between Positional Plagiocephaly/Brachycephaly and Cognition in School-Aged Children?Physical therapy · 2021Article
- Nonsynostotic Plagiocephaly: Prevention Strategies in Child Health Care.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Review
- Motor Function in School-Aged Children With Positional Plagiocephaly or Brachycephaly.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy Association · 2020Article
- Safety and efficacy of independent allied healthcare professionals in the assessment and management of plagiocephaly patients.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Deformational plagiocephaly (DP) occurs frequently in otherwise healthy infants. Many infants with DP undergo physiotherapy or helmet therapy, and ample treatment-related research is available. However, the possibility of preventing DP has been left with little attention. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention in the newborn's environment, positioning, and handling on the prevalence of DP at 3 months and to investigate the causal relationship between DP and cervical imbalance. We carried out a randomized controlled trial, with healthy newborns randomized into two groups at birth. All families received standard positioning instructions to prevent SIDS. Additionally, the intervention group received detailed instructions regarding the infant's environment, positioning, and handling, with the goal of creating a nonrestrictive environment that promotes spontaneous physical movement and symmetrical motor development. Two- and three-dimensional photogrammetry served to assess cranial shape and goniometry to measure cervical motion. At 3 months, the prevalence of DP was lower in the intervention group in both 2D (11 vs 31 %) and 3D analyses (15 vs 33 %), and the asymmetry was milder in the intervention group. Infants with DP at follow-up had also developed more torticollis.
conclusionAn early educational intervention reduces the prevalence and severity of DP at 3 months. WHAT IS KNOWN: •Deformational plagiocephaly, often with associated torticollis, is common in healthy infants. •Parental education is frequently recommended for preventing deformational plagiocephaly, although information regarding the effectiveness of preventive strategies is scarce. WHAT IS NEW: •Early parent guidance effectively reduces the prevalence and severity of DP and improves the cervical range of motion at three months. •Educating both parents and professionals about proper infant positioning on a national scale could help minimize public healthcare costs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.