Retinal haemorrhages in infant head injury

Abstract

We would like to congratulate Dr Geddes et al . and Brain for publishing their recent valuable contributions to the field of infant head injury/shaken baby syndrome (Geddes et al ., 2001 a, b ). It is unacceptable for malicious child abuse to go undetected and there is an obligation on those looking after children to protect them. However, a refusal to study alternative explanations should not be allowed to unjustly destroy the lives of the accused and their families (Wilkins, 1997). We believe that these papers have important implications for the understanding of retinal haemorrhages in shaken infants. …