Abstract Objective: Suspicion of early anterior fontanel (AF) closure is a common reason for referral to a pediatric neurosurgeon because of the suspected increased risk of developing craniosynostosis (CS) in spite of the absence of evidence in the literature. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between AF closure and the diagnosis of non-syndromic CS in Brazilian children. Methods: An observational and case-cohort study was conducted to compare the incidence of closed AF between healthy children (group 1) and children diagnosed with non-syndromic CS (group 2) at a pediatric neurosurgery referral center. The accuracies of completely closed AF and diagnosis of CS were assessed. Results: High-resolution three-dimensional reconstruction computed tomography scans were obtained for 140 children aged < 13 months, of whom 62.9% were boys and 37.1% were girls (p < 0.001). The most common types of non-syndromic CS were trigonocephaly (34, 48%) and scaphocephaly (25, 35.7%). Closed fontanel (27, 38.6%) was observed in both groups, and a sensitivity of 36.1%, specificity of 72%, the positive predictive value of 59%, and negative predictive value of 51% were observed in the patients diagnosed with CS when AF closure occurred before the age of 6 months. Conclusion: The results of this comparative study of AF closure and CS diagnosis suggest that early AF closure does not imply a diagnosis of CS. Pediatricians should be aware of the risk of misdiagnosis of CS in cases with a widely open AF in spite of the presence of CS.

Hematoma cervical é uma das complicações graves de endarterectomia. O risco dessa complicação pode ser maior em pacientes em uso de antiagregante plaquetário. Por outro lado, a suspensão de antiagregante plaquetário no período pré-operatório de endarterectomia eleva o risco de acidente vascular cerebral (AVC). Realizamos estudo prospectivo de 119 pacientes submetidos a endarterectomia (124 procedimentos), nos quais foi suspenso antiagregante plaquetário (aspirina ou clopidogrel) e foi administrada terapia-ponte com enoxaparina subcutânea no período pré-operatório. Nessa série, não houve ocorrência de AVC no período pré-operatório. Um paciente (0,8%) desenvolveu hematoma cervical no quinto dia pós-operatório. A mortalidade nessa série foi de 0,8%. Não houve nenhuma complicação atribuída diretamente ao uso de enoxaparina. A terapia-ponte com heparina de baixo peso molecular demonstrou ser estratégia segura no preparo de pacientes para endarterectomia

Cervical clot is one of the complications of endarterectomy. This risk may be higher in patients using aspirin or clopidogrel. On the other hand, stroke may occur if the medication is interrupted before surgery. We carried out a prospective study of 124 endarterectomies in 119 patients in which aspirin or clopidogrel was stopped and a bridge-therapy with enoxaparin was administered preoperatively. There was no case of stroke during the period of the bridge-therapy. One patient developed cervical clot (0.8%) in the fifth postoperative day. Mortality rate in this series was 0.8%. There was no complication directly related to the use of enoxaparin. Bridge-therapy with low molecular weight heparin is a safe strategy for patients elected for endarterectomy