Imaging of nonaccidental injury and the mimics: issues and controversies in the era of evidence-based medicine.
Because of the controversy involving the determination of child abuse, or nonaccidental injury (NAI), radiologists must be familiar with the issues, literature, and principles of evidence-based medicine to understand the role of imaging. Children with suspected NAI must receive protective evaluation along with a timely and complete clinical and imaging work-up. Imaging findings cannot stand alone and must be correlated with clinical findings, laboratory testing, and pathologic and forensic examinations. Only the child protection investigation may provide the basis for inflicted injury in the context of supportive clinical, imaging, biomechanical, or pathology findings.
Department of Radiology, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University Medical Center, 725 Welch Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. pbarnes@stanford.edu
Patrick D
PD
Barnes
D000058:Accidental Falls; D001497:Battered Child Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002649:Child Abuse; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D005104:Expert Testimony / Q000379:methods; D006408:Hematoma, Subdural / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D038642:Shaken Baby Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*