Abstract
This study investigated characteristics and trends of hospitalized abuse-related traumatic brain injuries (TBI) treated at a large pediatric medical center in Wuhan, China during the past 10 years. De-identified hospital discharge data for patients 0–4 years old hospitalized at the Wuhan Medical Care Center for Women and Children were analyzed, and ICD-10 codes were used to identify cases of TBI. Medical notes provided by doctors in the medical record were used to identify TBI cases in which suspected child abuse was the cause. From 2002 to 2011, 3,061 pediatric TBI patients were hospitalized and 4.6% (140) of these cases were suspected child abuse-related. The majority of suspected child abuse cases involved children younger than 1 year of age (68.6%) and usually affected males (63.6%). Children with non-Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) were more likely to have full recovery outcome (68.4%, 95% CI: 66.6%–70.0%) than children with suspected AHT (44.3%, 95% CI: 36.1%–52.5%). The proportion of all childhood TBI attributable to abuse did not appear to have increased in the 10-year period at this medical center. This is the first comprehensive study highlighting the important role of suspected child abuse in causing TBIs among Chinese children. Child abuse as a major cause of TBIs among infants in China should be studied further, and there should be greater awareness of this important social and medical problem in China.
Highlights
Child abuse, a common and serious problem around the World, refers to all forms of neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse that results in harm to a child’s health, development or dignity [1,2,3].Every year, 155,000 deaths occur in children globally as a result of abuse or neglect [4], yet the number of abused children has been and continues to be largely underestimated [5]
This study investigated the trend of proportion (%) of suspected pediatric abusive head trauma (AHT) in all inpatient children 0–4 years of age with traumatic brain injuries from 2002 to
The proportion of traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by suspected child abuse in all pediatric TBI decreased from
Summary
A common and serious problem around the World, refers to all forms of neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse that results in harm to a child’s health, development or dignity [1,2,3]. 155,000 deaths occur in children globally as a result of abuse or neglect [4], yet the number of abused children has been and continues to be largely underestimated [5]. Children who suffered child abuse can develop physical, emotional, and cognitive conditions, which can significantly impact neurological development [7]. Prevention of child abuse and the reduction of abusive injuries and their negative impacts should be a global health priority.
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