Brachycephaly has several potential deleterious effects, including
malocclusion,
sleep apnea, and abnormal posture. Nevertheless, the research regarding helmet
therapy as a treatment strategy for
brachycephaly is limited. Herein, we aimed to analyze the factors influencing the effects of helmet
therapy in infants with
brachycephaly. We retrospectively reviewed the records of 207 infants aged 3-14 months with a cranial index (CI) >90% who received helmet
therapy between May 2016 and October 2019 and complied with the treatment protocol well. We used a multiple regression analysis to determine which factors affected the
duration of therapy and a Jonckheere-Terpstra test to establish differences in the duration of helmet
therapy according to age and severity. We identified
brachycephaly severity (p < 0.001), asymmetry (p < 0.001), and age (p < 0.001) as factors affecting the
duration of therapy. Helmet
therapy might be effective for infants with moderate to severe
brachycephaly, assuming good protocol compliance. In addition, younger treatment initiation age and less severe and less asymmetric
brachycephaly significantly shorten the
treatment duration.