TY - JOUR
PY - 2021//
TI - What happens after the hospital? An analysis of longitudinal care needs in children treated for child physical abuse
JO - Journal of pediatric surgery
A1 - Johnson, Brittany L.
A1 - Gerzina, Elizabeth A.
A1 - Naik-Mathuria, Bindi
A1 - Wesson, David E.
A1 - Vogel, Adam M.
A1 - Niedzwecki, Christian M.
A1 - Fallon, Sara C.
SP - ePub
EP - ePub
VL - ePub
IS - ePub
N2 - BACKGROUND: Victims of child physical abuse (CPA) undergo stabilization and social evaluation during initial management. Current data guides the initial hospital course, but few studies evaluate post-hospital care. The aim of this study was to evaluate compliance with recommended post-discharge visits.
METHODS: A retrospective review of our trauma database at a Level I pediatric trauma center from 2014-2018 was performed. Data included demographics, injuries, and longitudinal outcomes. Descriptive statistics and univariate analyses were performed.
RESULTS: There were 401 patients (409 unique presentations). Median age was 7 months. Mortality was 6%. Ninety-five percent (358/377) had recommended appointments with multiple specialty services. Compliance with all recommended visits during the first year after injury was 88%. Patients with complex injuries were as likely to comply with recommended follow-up [72% vs. 67%, p = 0.4]; however, they were more likely to still be receiving care at 1 year (58% vs. 14%, p = 0.0001). Those discharged to CPS custody were more likely to be compliant with their follow-up (90% vs. 82%, p = 0.03).
CONCLUSION: Patients significantly injured due to CPA require more post-hospital care over time. CPA management guidelines should include a mechanism to provide resources to these patients and manage multiple coordinating consultants.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0022-3468 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2021.05.019 ID - ref1 ER -