Emergency Evaluation of Children When Sexual Assault Is Suspected

Abstract

Three reports in this issue of Pediatrics address the challenge of evaluating acute sexual assault of children and adolescents. The first, by Floyed et al, discusses using a screening tool in the pediatric emergency department to determine whether a child can be referred to a different (less-busy or more-appropriate) practice setting for evaluation.1 This is a reasonable approach, because many children report abuse that occurred days, weeks, or years before presentation to the emergency department. Two caveats, however, should be noted. The first comes from the other 2 studies in this issue.2,3 Both of those studies report an occasional incident in which forensic testing revealed evidence in assault cases several days after the events occurred. Another consideration is that, although a child's disclosure of sexual abuse in the distant past might not be perceived as a medical emergency by health care providers, it often is perceived as a major emotional crisis … Address correspondence to Carole Jenny, MD, MBA, Hasbro Children's Hospital, Potter-005, 593 Eddy St, Providence, RI 02903. E-mail: cjenny{at}lifespan.org