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BMJ 2003;326:239 ( 1 February )

News

Shaken baby syndrome requires a national prevention strategy

David Spurgeon, Quebec

A 10 year retrospective review of 364 children in Canada with "shaken baby syndrome" shows that almost a fifth of the children died and two thirds had long term damage.

Sixty nine (19%) of the children died from their injuries. Of the children who survived, 162 (55%) had ongoing neurological injury and 192 (65%) had visual impairment.

The study, published last week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (2003;168: 155-9), examined medical records between 1988 and 1998 in 11 paediatric tertiary care hospitals across Canada.

The authors say that at least 40 cases of the syndrome occur each year in Canada, from which eight children will die, 18 will have permanent neurological injury requiring lifelong assistance, and 17 will be taken into foster care.

The study defined the syndrome as any case of "intracranial, intraocular or cervical spine injury resulting from a substantiated or suspected shaking, with or without impact, in children aged less than five years." The median age of the children in the study was 4.6 months (range 7 days to 58 months), 56% of whom were boys. Presenting complaints were seizure-like episode (45%), decreased level of consciousness (43%), and respiratory difficulty (34%). Bruising was noted in 46%.

A history or clinical evidence of previous maltreatment was noted in 220 children (60%), while 80 families (22%) had had previous involvement with child welfare authorities.

Medical charts documented poverty in 87 families (28%) and an unsafe or inappropriate environment in 73 (20%).

© 2003 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd


 

PDF of this article Email this article to a friend Respond to this article PubMed citation Related articles in PubMed Download to Citation Manager Search Medline for articles by: Spurgeon, D. Alert me when: New articles cite this article

Collections under which this article appears: Abuse (child, partner, elder)

© 2003 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd

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