Incidence of retinal hemorrhages in abusive head trauma: Comparison of cases of perpetrator confession, identifiable perpetrator without confession and no identifiable perpetrator

Abstract

Purpose: Retinal hemorrhages (RH) are a cardinal feature of abusive head trauma (AHT) where characteristic hemorrhages in the setting of acute brain injury should be considered nonaccidental trauma until proven otherwise. We compared retinal hemorrhages of those cases where a perpetrator confessed to the act to those where a perpetrator was identified through other means. We also analyzed cases where a single perpetrator could not be identified.