Argenta Classification
Clinical staging of positional plagiocephaly and brachycephaly from examination findings. Check every finding present.
Method
Each type adds a finding to the one before it, so the type is set by the most advanced finding present. Plagiocephaly runs from type I, deformity limited to the back of the skull, to type V, with abnormal vertical or temporal growth. Brachycephaly runs from type I, central posterior flattening, to type III, with vertical or temporal growth.
Argenta and colleagues proposed the classification as a simple clinical way to grade severity and guide treatment, from repositioning for milder types to cranial orthosis for more advanced ones. Lambdoid or bicoronal craniosynostosis should be excluded clinically before applying it.
Source: Argenta L, David L, Thompson J. Clinical classification of positional plagiocephaly. J Craniofac Surg. 2004;15(3):368–372. PubMed 15111792.
- Type IPosterior flattening only
- Type II+ ear malposition
- Type III+ forehead deformity
- Type IV+ facial asymmetry
- Type V+ vertical or temporal growth
- Type ICentral posterior flattening
- Type II+ posterior widening
- Type III+ vertical or temporal growth