title: Abusive head trauma: a case study.
abstract: Abusive head trauma (AHT) has greater mortality and morbidity than any other form of physical abuse. Therefore, early recognition and accurate diagnosis are essential for comprehensive investigation and appropriate treatment of infants who present with this devastating traumatic injury. Advanced practice nurses need to have a thorough understanding of AHT in order to promptly and accurately assess and manage these infants. Using a case-based approach, the epidemiology, pathophysiology, mechanisms of injury, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of AHT are described. This article also discusses AHT prevention and implications for advanced practice nurses caring for these patients.
authors.affiliation: Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY 10032, USA. sg2612@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Saribel Garcia
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Ceballos
mesh_terms: D057179:Advanced Practice Nursing; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000628:therapy; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D016529:Emergency Nursing; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D019221:Mandatory Reporting; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D011322:Primary Prevention; D038642:Shaken Baby Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed