title: Violence against children: further evidence suggesting a relationship between burns, scalds, and the additional injuries.
abstract: Up to 22 % of all child maltreatment cases involve non-accidental burns or scalds. In the time period of 2000 until 2007, 20 children with non-accidental burns and scalds in conjunction with other mechanisms of injury were examined at children's hospitals in Hamburg and at the Institute of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, by experts in forensic medicine. The fact that these children presented with additional injuries due to blunt and sharp force and sometimes had signs of neglect emphasize the urgent need for a multidisciplinary cooperation between pediatricians and forensic medical experts to ensure the early identification and prevention of child maltreatment. A new approach for Germany, enforcing mandatory child well-being examinations is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. d.seifert@uke.uni-hamburg.de
authors.forename: Dragana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Seifert
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krohn
authors.forename: Mandi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lambe
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Püschel
authors.forename: Henrike
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kurth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology