Abusive Head Trauma in Children: A Literature Review

Lopes, Nahara Rodrigues Laterza; Eisenstein, Evelyn; Williams, Lúcia Cavalcanti de Albuquerque

doi:10.1016/j.jpedp.2013.01.012

Cited by 8 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 56 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Trauma is the most common cause of death in children, and abusive head trauma is the primary cause of traumatic death and morbidity in infancy (first year of life) [1,2]. Diagnosis of abusive head trauma relies on the clinical picture (such as bruising, unclear history of trauma, and changes in reported events over time), as well as brain CT, ophthalmological examination and skeletal radiographs that reveal subdural hemorrhage, retinal hemorrhage and fractures with various-age lesions suggestive of non-accidental trauma [3,4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroimaging differential diagnoses to abusive head trauma

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Trauma is the most common cause of death in childhood, and abusive head trauma is the most common cause of traumatic death and morbidity in infants younger than 1 year. The main differential diagnosis of abusive head trauma is accidental traumatic brain injury, which is usually witnessed. This paper also discusses more uncommon diagnoses such as congenital and acquired disorders of hemostasis, cerebral arteriovenous malformations and metabolic diseases, all of which are extremely rare. Diagnostic imaging including CT and MRI is very important for the distinction of non-accidental from accidental traumatic injury.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroimaging differential diagnoses to abusive head trauma

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Subdural hematoma has been described in up to 90% of diagnosed cases. 4,8 Retinal hemorrhage is another strong indicator of AHT and a recent literature review indicated its occurrence in 74% of cases of AHT and in 82% of fatal cases. 4,22 An ophthalmology assessment should always form part of the clinical assessment for AHT in children.…”

Section: Clinical Presentation Of Ahtmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other signs of AHT may include unexplained respiratory distress, vomiting, poor feeding, irritability, lethargy, apnea, sudden unexplained unresponsiveness, seizures, and the more chronic sequelae of increasing head circumference and macrocephaly, developmental delay, and behavioral changes. 4,11,24 Box 2 Gross motor developmental milestones in a child, knowledge about these is vital when AHT is suspected.…”

Section: Clinical Presentation Of Ahtmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2,3 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States (CDC) has defined AHT 'as an injury to the skull or intracranial contents of a baby or child younger than 5 years due to intentional abrupt impact and/or violent shaking'. 4 The concept of AHT in children is not new. It was Caffey in 1974 who first used the term whiplash-shaken infant syndrome to describe the association of intracranial injuries, retinal hemorrhage, and certain long bone fractures attributable to child abuse among infants (majority being under 1 year of age).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The importance of recognizing abusive head trauma in the neurosurgical setting

Paul

Kane

2014

The Indian Journal of Neurotrauma

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abusive head trauma (AHT) occurs due to an intentional abrupt impact and/or violent shaking leading to an injury to the skull or intracranial contents of a baby or child, usually younger than 2 years of age. Without impact, there may be no external signs of head trauma. It is the leading cause of mortality in children who have suffered intentional physical abuse. It is more likely to occur in very young children with an estimated prevalence of 1 per 3000 in infants under 6 months of age. Studies have highlighted that distressed and exhausted parents can sometimes shake their infant in desperation and parental education has been shown to decrease the incidence of AHT. Clinicians dealing with children who presents with traumatic brain injury (TBI) should always consider the possibility of AHT. AHT is classically characterized by a triad of signs; subdural hematoma, brain edema, and retinal hemorrhage, however, non-specific features may also be seen in clinical practice both acutely or subsequently. Certain neuroradiological findings (subdural hemorrhages, multiple interhemispheric convexity and posterior fossa hemorrhages, hypoxic-ischemic injury and cerebral edema) are suggestive of AHT in young children. Associated spinal injuries can be easily missed and it is important to investigate for this. This review article includes 2 illustrative case studies and gives a comprehensive overview of AHT in children which we hope will be useful for neurosurgeons in their clinical practice. Child protection is everyone's responsibility and is best achieved when different specialties and professionals work together.

show abstract

“…A recent literature review found only one published study on this topic in Brazil, 15 and it reported an alarming fact: of 142 health professionals interviewed, 97% did not know what SBS was, and 60.8% reported that they had shaken a child. 16 A North American study investigated the use of disciplinary strategies in different countries, including Brazil.…”

Section: Brazilmentioning

confidence: 99%

International collaboration on prevention of shaken baby syndrome – an ongoing project/intervention

Foley¹,

Kovács

Rose³

et al. 2013

Paediatrics and International Child Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Caring for young infants can be stressful. Non-accidental brain or head injury (shaken baby syndrome) is a result of parental stress, and a lack of knowledge of how to respond to a crying infant and the dangers of shaking a child. This article demonstrates the value of international collaboration in projects to prevent child maltreatment. It includes reports of prevention of shaken baby syndrome programmes in Australia, Hungary, Greece, Brazil and Turkey.

show abstract

Abusive Head Trauma in Children: A Literature Review

Cited by 8 publications

References 56 publications

Neuroimaging differential diagnoses to abusive head trauma

Neuroimaging differential diagnoses to abusive head trauma

The importance of recognizing abusive head trauma in the neurosurgical setting

International collaboration on prevention of shaken baby syndrome – an ongoing project/intervention

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About