Aspetti radiologici e medico-legali dei traumi da maltrattamento sui minori

Abstract

Child abuse is a topical issue in modern society and has social and medical implications which directly concern the doctor, both as a private citizen and as a health professional. Abuse injuries can be of very different types, e.g. physical, psychological or sexual. Hence they require a multidisciplinary and multispecialty approach, which must begin with an accurate medical examination, conducted in compliance with the lege artis principles and with respect for the victim's dignity. Diagnostic imaging becomes essential, together with epicrisis, which is useful to distinguish between accidental and abusive injuries. This paper describes the radiologist's key role in identifying physical injuries due to child abuse, in accordance with current regulations.

Forensic radiology and personal identification of unidentified bodies: a review

“…Sebbene la virtopsy non possa sostituire la classica procedura autoptica, il contributo di tali tecnologie avanzate può fornire decisive informazioni per l'analisi delle lesioni e l'identifi cazione personale. Inoltre, l'importanza dell'approccio radiologico è provata anche dalla sua diffusione come fondamentale test diagnostico nel caso di abusi fi sici su bambini, ove l'accertamento della presenza di segni di traumatismi recenti e pregressi è di fondamentale importanza [38,39] [41][42][43], specialmente in specifi ci distretti vertebrali quali le vertebre [44]. Al momento il tema della precisione ed accuratezza dell'indagine radiografi ca è un punto cruciale di dibattito e dovrebbe essere approfondito per verifi care la sua reale affi dabilità nel campo dell'identifi cazione personale.…”

“…Although virtopsy cannot replace autoptic procedures, the contribution of such advanced technologies may provide decisive information for the assessment of lesions and personal identifi cation. In addition, the importance of the radiological approach in forensics is demonstrated by its widespread use in cases of child physical abuse, where ascertaining the presence of signs of recent and past trauma is mandatory [38,39]. The use of radiology in personal identifi cation leads to several advantages.…”

‘Compressed Baby Head’: A New ‘Abusive Head Trauma’ Entity?

“…The term child abuse identifies multiple nosological entities that have been studied and categorised over the years. Indeed, child abuse encompasses abusive injuries of various types and entities, including acts of violence, sexual or non-sexual, as well as cases of neglect in the care, affection, and attention of a minor [ 2 ].…”