Pediatric Abusive Head Trauma

Children have multiple or prolonged exposure to trauma, experience various symptoms and reactions, and long for progressive techniques to heal their pain.

Sometimes you almost feel like you just get rid of him, don’t you?’” (49). Indeed, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons assures that the urge to shake a baby in order to get it to stop crying is a common, well-documented phenomenon. However, it is nonetheless a form of abuse, as shaking children as young as baby can have devastating consequences on their development and even put their lives at risk. The AANS describes Shaken Baby Syndrome as “a serious form of abuse inflicted upon a child” that “usually occurs when a parent or other caregiver shakes a baby out of anger or frustration, often because the baby will not stop crying” (AANS).

     Fifty Thousand cases occur each year in the U.S. (Ramirez, 1996). One shaken baby in four dies as a result of this abuse (Poissaint & Linn, 1997) Approximately 20 percent of cases are fatal in the first few days after injury and majority of the survivors are left with handicaps ranging from mild to

Physical abuse involves hitting, kicking, poisoning, burning and shaking or causing harm to a child, and it can occur when parents fabricate symptoms, or purposely induces illness to a child (DfES, 2010). According to National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Children (NSPCC) (2013), explains that when parents are caring for children can sometimes be a struggle, and they can use punishment like hitting as a way to discipline them which can cause physical injuries such as scares and fracture, and the best way to do it is by setting boundaries, talking, explaining and listening which can be a better way than kicking or burning a child. However, according to Beckett (2003), described there those injuries that

Regarding the rank order of the cases, this social worker feels that Case B has the highest priority, followed by case A and then case C. The reason why Case B has the highest priority is because of the age of the child. Children ages 5 and under are prone to suffer complications from being direct head trauma resulting in seizures, paralysis, coma and possibly leading to death (Hershberger 2014). According to the case study, there is evidence that the child has sustained multiple abusive head trauma multiple times over a period of weeks. This social worker feels that the child is in immediate danger to losing life, limb or eyesight and therefor would rank this case of highest priority.

After reviewing the deferent unique forms of homicidal violence against children the focus for this discussion board will be "Shaken Baby Syndrome". By definition by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is the physical abuse of a child of a violent and at times deadly shaking of an infants' body or extremity. Infants who are between the ages of 2 to 4 mounts are the most vulnerable to these attacks. In any case, "whiplash" is the most shared injuries and more so internal hemorrhages leading to death. (Abuse statistics 2017, n.d.)

In the cases of inflicted brain trauma, abuse can sometimes be difficult to diagnose because the baby may not have any external marks, other than bruises on chest and extremities from where the infant was held (Lyden, 2011). Researchers say that retinal hemorrhages in infant’s eyes should be considered as signs of abuse until proven otherwise, although they acknowledge that retinal bleeding in infants can be caused by other conditions, those conditions can be ruled out through history, physical exam, and labs (Lyden, 2011).

66). Prevention education is the main focus to treat and reduce the occurrences of SBS (Hockenberry & Wilson, 2011, p. 632). Once a child has been admitted for treatment for SBS, a nurse will perform “a through history and physical assessment with detailed documentation” (Parsh & Jacoby, 2013, p. 66). The nurse will also frequently assess the child’s level of consciousness, “need for resuscitation,” bulging of the soft spot, and swelling of the cranium (Parsh & Jacoby, 2013, p. 66). The healthcare team will assess the child’s respiratory status and effort because hypoxemia can easily occur due to the severe head trauma (Parsh & Jacoby, 2013, p. 66). If the child survives, specialty or focused care must be sought to maintain the child’s permanent disabilities. (Parsh & Jacoby, 2013, p. 66). According to Parsh & Jacoby, “child abuse is a crime” and should be reported to child protective services immediately (2013, p.

Child abuse unfortunately is prevalent in society today. It is estimated that there are more than 119,000 cases of child abuse, and 600 fatalities from it each year (Lindberg, Berger, Reynolds, Alwan & Harper, 2014). Although it is not a relatively uncommon occurrence, it can be very difficult to diagnose (Fingarson & Pierce, 2012). Physical abuse can range from broken bones to intracranial bleeds, but one of the most fatal types of abuse is head trauma. Another name commonly used for abusive head trauma is shaken-baby syndrome. Many professionals have moved away from using this term because it does not describe a specific injury, rather it defines a particular mechanism. Studies have shown that shaking is the most often reported mechanism in serious and

When caring for a child, abuse is a concern for all physicians including the radiologist.5 If a non-accidental injury is suspected, a complete radiographic skeletal examination is required. This examination should include both the axial and appendicular skeleton.1 “The symptoms and signs of abuse range from neglect and/or deprivation, through sexual abuse to the physically “battered child” or “non-accidental head injury” (NAHI) also called “shaken baby syndrome” (SBS)”.5 Shaken baby syndrome is a common form of child abuse which often occurs when an adult violently shakes an infant or child.2 “Skeletal injuries are often the strongest radiological indicators of abuse”.5 However, it can be difficult to diagnose child abuse because many children and infants do not exhibit outward signs of abuse. Some clinical clues include presence of bruises and rapid unexplained increase in the head circumference of an infant showing nonspecific symptoms.5 Shaken baby syndrome typically exhibits symptoms of retinal hemorrhage, subdural hemorrhage, and/or hematoma. “CT and MR imaging often are used along with radiography to study suspected cases of shaken baby syndrome”.2 If radiographic images provide evidence of fractures, CT and MR imaging may be used for the detection of present

Christian (2015) in the article “Evaluation of Suspected Child Physical Abuse” aims to provide a clinical guidance to evaluate the suspected physical abuse in children and determine the suitable treatment depending on the radiological diagnosis. The prevalence of this study was limited in the US to whom are inflicted the four types of child abuse; physical, emotional, sexual and neglect abuse. Christian (2015) divide the type of child abuse into two types; server (long term) and minor injury (long- term effect). In 2004, they declare that 26.4% of the cases that registered in the USA as a child abuse were pushed, grabbed or slapped. So, the sign of physical harm is considerably noticeable. However, it is unclear in some cases that are unreported

Childhood trauma is one of the most heartbreaking situations to ever fathom happening. Childhood trauma includes neglect, maltreatment, physical and emotional abuse, and many other forms of mistreatment amongst children. Childhood trauma occurs between the ages of 0 and 6 years of age. When referencing to childhood trauma, one must take thought into who commits the abuse, who is affected by the abuse, and what long term effects can the abuse have on the victims. One must also take into consideration the sex differences when referring to childhood trauma. Numerous of studies have been conducted and many findings have been made. Prior to conducting this research paper, I only considered childhood trauma to be what it was and never considered the long term effects. Because of my assumption, I never even considered the other categories of the trauma.

Widespread disease, famine, illegal immigration, and government corruption plague the human race and are arguably more important than the issue of the human rights of a child. However, the fact of the matter is that child abuse has monstrous effects on all victims and should be treated as the epidemic that it is. For instance, Shaken Baby Syndrome is the leading cause of serious cranial injuries in infants (AAP). This unfortunate and rather self-explanatory syndrome is a clearly definable form of child abuse (AAP), causing severe head trauma and permanently damaging cerebral processes (AAP). In fact, a review was conducted in Canada over the course of 10 years, and a staggering 65% of infants evaluated suffered visual impairment (Spurgeon). Clearly, abuse is a crisis of underestimated

A second study was conducted by (J Leon-Carrion, FJC Ramos - Brain injury, 2003) to show how un-treated brain injury during childhood development or adolescence was

Non accidental injuries (NAIs) are any form of physical injury where there is definite knowledge or reasonable suspicion that the injury was purposefully inflicted on the patient. In NAIs found in children (NAICs), the first step of investigation is to check any person having custody, charge or care of the child. More commonly known as physical child abuse, the most common injuries suffered by NAIC patients are frequent unexplained cutaneous injuries such as bruises, burns or contusions which they tend to be unwilling to show to others, the next most common are fractures. Children suffering NAICs also tend to have psychological symptoms such as depression or outbursts and are cautious around people, avoid touch, and flinching at sudden movements. Very few children suffering NAICs will tell anyone about them and usually feel guilty, confused or humiliated. If a health care professional notices these signs and suspects child abuse, they should refer the child to a radiology clinic.