Single-suture craniosynostosis: is there a correlation between preoperative ophthalmological, neuroradiological, and neurocognitive findings?

Background In spite of literature data stating that children with single-suture craniosynostosis have an increased risk for neuropsychological deficits, no data are present clarifying the potential risk factors. Methods All children with non-syndromic single-suture craniosynostosis operated on from January 2014 to January 2017 were enrolled. A comprehensive neurocognitive and neuro-ophthalmological evaluation was performed before surgery and 6 months after surgery. A further neurocognitive evaluation was performed 12 months after surgery. All children had a preoperative CT/MR study. Results One hundred forty-two patients were enrolled; 87 are affected by sagittal craniosynostosis, 38 by trigonocephaly, and 17 by plagiocephaly. A global neurocognitive impairment was documented in 22/87 children with scaphocephaly, 5/38 children with trigonocephaly, and 6/17 children with anterior plagiocephaly. There was a significant relationship between results of the ophthalmological evaluation, global IQ, and CT findings at diagnosis ( r = 0.296, p