Citation

Solaiman AZ, Kulaylat AN, Santos MC, Rocourt DV, Methratta ST, Millington K, Alexander CP. Pediatr. Emerg. Care 2015; 32(7): 462-464.

Affiliation

From the *Department of Pediatrics, Divisions of †Pediatric Surgery, ‡Pediatric Radiology, and §Anatomic Pathology, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/PEC.0000000000000445

PMID

25899753

Abstract

Small intestinal injury is seldom described in the context of child abuse. Signs and symptoms are subtle, often leading to delays in diagnosis. We describe a 3-year-old boy initially admitted with severe blunt abdominal trauma from physical child abuse. He was successfully managed nonoperatively. The child was then hospitalized several times for nonspecific abdominal symptoms until diagnostic laparoscopy discovered a jejunal stricture with a proximal jejuno-jejunal fistula. Symptoms fully resolved after resection. Delayed presentation of small intestinal injury should remain on the differential diagnosis in the evaluation of persistent abdominal symptoms in a child with a prior history of physical abuse, even if imaging studies do not reveal specific abnormalities.

Language: en