Fatal child abuse: analysis of 24 cases.
Analysis of 24 cases of fatal child abuse reveals that multi-disciplinary review can assist in the determination of whether fatal injury was accidental or non-accidental. All cases had both a 'discrepant history' and some 'delay' in seeking care. The predisposing child factor was inconsolable crying in infants under 12 months, and was associated with a bowel or bladder accident or diaper change in 9 of 12 cases where children were over 1 year of age. Head injury accounted for 17 of the 24 deaths.
D002649:Child Abuse; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000401:mortality; D005190:Family; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007237:Infanticide; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000209:etiology