SAFETYLIT WEEKLY UPDATE

We compile citations and summaries of about 400 new articles every week.
RSS Feed

HELP: Tutorials | FAQ
CONTACT US: Contact info

Search Results

Journal Article

Citation

Hobbs CJ. Lancet 2005; 366(9481): 187-188.

Affiliation

St James's University Hospital, Leeds, LS9 7TF, UK. chris.hobbs@leedsth.nhs.uk

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66887-0

PMID

16023494

Abstract

Diagnosis of abuse in children with internal abdominal injury is difficult because of limited published work. We aimed to ascertain the incidence of abdominal injury due to abuse in children age 0â??14 years. 20 children (identified via the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit) had abdominal injuries due to abuse and 164 (identified via the Trauma Audit and Research Network) had injuries to the abdomen due to accident (112 by road-traffic accidents, 52 by falls). 16 abused children were younger than 5 years. Incidence of abdominal injury due to abuse was 2·33 cases per million children per year (95% CI 1·43â??3·78) in children younger than 5 years. Six abused children died. 11 abused children had an injury to the gut (ten small bowel) compared with five (all age >5 years) who were injured by a fall (relative risk 5·72 [95% CI 2·27â??14·4]; p=0·0002). We have shown that small-bowel injuries can arise accidentally as a result of falls and road-traffic accidents but they are significantly more common in abused children. Therefore, injuries to the small bowel in young children need special consideration, particularly if a minor fall is the explanation.

NEW SEARCH


All SafetyLit records are available for automatic download to Zotero & Mendeley
Print