Incidence Of Abusive Head Trauma Research Articles

Abusive head trauma incidence and prevention in Queensland, Australia

BackgroundAbusive head trauma (AHT), including both shaken baby syndrome and inflicted traumatic brain injury, has been reported to be the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in physically abused...

Using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition, Codes to Estimate Abusive Head Trauma in Children

AbstractPassive surveillance using ICD codes for hospital discharges has been used to estimate the incidence of abusive head trauma (AHT) utilizing ICD-9-CM, but not ICD-10, codes. There have been no incidence estimates of AHT in Canada where ICD-10 codes have been used since 2002. The Discharge Abstract Database from the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) for 2002–2007 was used for analyses conducted in 2011. A case was defined by code combinations that indexed injury specificity (narrow or broad) and degree of certainty (presumptive or probable) that the injury was inflicted. Estimated incidences for the populations at risk in those aged <12 months and 12–23 months from 2002–2007 were determined.For those aged <12 months, the mean incidence for “narrow, presumptive” AHT was 13.0 (95% CIs=11.3, 14.9) per 100,000 person-years; for “broad, probable” it was 15.5 (13.6, 17.6) per 100,000 person-years. For those aged 12–23 months, the “narrow, presumptive” incidence was 2.4 (1.7, 3.3) and the “broad, probable” incidence was 2.8 (2.0, 3.8) per 100,000 person-years, respectively. Month and year of age patterns were similar to previous reports. ICD-10 codes can be used to estimate incidence of AHT. Narrower classifications provide estimates consistent with those from other surveillance programs in Canada and internationally.

Characteristics of fatal abusive head trauma among children in the USA: 2003–2007: an application of the CDC operational case definition to national vital statistics data

ObjectiveIn March of 2008, an expert panel was convened at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop code-based case definitions for abusive head trauma (AHT) in children under...

Update on child abuse prevention

Child abuse remains a significant problem in the United States with 2.9 million reports and 825 000 indicated cases in 2005. This report will highlight recent efforts toward child abuse prevention, focusing on home visiting programs, abusive head trauma primary prevention, parent training programs, sexual abuse prevention, and the effectiveness of laws banning corporal punishment. Most home visitation programs have demonstrated a lack of effectiveness in recent randomized trials. One exception is the Nurse Family Partnership, which remains the most effective and longest enduring intervention for high-risk families. Child sexual abuse prevention programs and parent training programs need further evaluation with more rigorous methodology and outcome measures. Providing universal parent education about coping with crying infants appears to be effective in lowering the incidence of abusive head trauma. Although advocated for, further study will determine the effectiveness of laws banning corporal punishment or mandating abusive head trauma education to parents of newborns. Pediatricians play an important role in the prevention of child maltreatment. Their knowledge of the effectiveness of different programs can help guide parents toward appropriate services.

Establishing a register of children with special needs.

<h3>Objective</h3> In March of 2008, an expert panel was convened at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop code-based case definitions for abusive head trauma (AHT) in children under 5 years of age based on the <i>International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision</i> (<i>ICD-10</i>) nature and cause of injury codes. This study presents the operational case definition and applies it to US death data. <h3>Methods</h3> National Center for Health Statistics National Vital Statistics System data on multiple cause-of-death from 2003 to 2007 were examined. <h3>Results</h3> Inspection of records with at least one <i>ICD-10</i> injury/disease code and at least one <i>ICD-10</i> cause code from the AHT case definition resulted in the identification of 780 fatal AHT cases, with 699 classified as definite/presumptive AHT and 81 classified as probable AHT. The fatal AHT rate was highest among children age &lt;1 year with a peak in incidence that occurred at 1–2 months of age. Fatal AHT incidence rates were higher for men than women and were higher for non-Hispanic African–Americans compared to other racial/ethnic groups. Fatal AHT incidence was relatively constant across seasons. <h3>Conclusions</h3> This report demonstrates that the definition can help to identify population subgroups at higher risk for AHT defined by year and month of death, age, sex and race/ethnicity. This type of definition may be useful for various epidemiological applications including research and surveillance. These activities can in turn inform further development of prevention activities, including educating parents about the dangers of shaking and strategies for managing infant crying.