History, injury, and psychosocial risk factor commonalities among cases of fatal and near-fatal physical child abuse

Child Abuse & Neglect
Mary Clyde PierceRichard Thompson

Abstract

Failure to recognize child maltreatment results in chronic exposure to high-risk environments where re-injury or death may occur. We analyzed a series (n=20) of fatal (n=10) and near-fatal (n=10) physical child abuse cases from the Commonwealth of Kentucky to identify commonalities and determine whether indicators of maltreatment were present prior to the child's fatal or near-fatal event. We conducted retrospective state record reviews involving children <4years of age classified as physical child abuse by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services during a 12 month period. Cases were distributed across 17 counties. IRB approvals were obtained. Three reviewers concurrently abstracted case data from medical, social, and legal documents, and descriptive statistics were analyzed. Median age of subjects was 7.5 months (range 1-32 months); 55% were male. Psychosocial risk factors (PRFs) were present in 100% of cases. Traumatic brain injury (95%) and bruising (90%) were the most common injuries. Of the 14 children with available prior medical records, 9 (64%) had sentinel injuries in the form of prior unexplained bruising; all nine suffered subsequent traumatic brain injury resulting in four deaths. A male was caring for the child a...Continue Reading

Citations

Mar 15, 2018·Pediatric Annals·Erin F HoehnElena Duma
Sep 25, 2017·Archives of Disease in Childhood·Mary Clyde Pierce
Sep 6, 2018·Journal of Forensic Sciences·Björn BäckströmJoakim Sturup
Mar 15, 2019·Journal of Burn Care & Research : Official Publication of the American Burn Association·Norell RosadoDouglas Lorenz
Dec 30, 2020·Child Abuse & Neglect·Kristine A CampbellRachel P Berger
Mar 25, 2020·Pediatrics·Sandeep K NarangUNKNOWN COUNCIL ON CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT
Dec 5, 2021·International Journal of Legal Medicine·Katharina FeldDaniel Wittschieber
Mar 4, 2021·Pediatrics·Caitlin E CrummKenneth W Feldman

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