title: Intra-abdominal insertion of sewing needles: a rare method of child abuse.
abstract: The insertion of sewing needles into the abdominal cavity is an uncommon form of child abuse. We report a 2-and-a-half-year-old boy with 2 intra-abdominal sewing needles that were discovered during the evaluation of chronic abdominal pain and vomiting. This case report illustrates the wide range with which abusive injury can present in children. Pediatricians need to be alerted to this newly-recognized and the increasing form of child abuse so that they examine and diagnose their patients appropriately.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Hussain Alshamrani, Department of Pediatrics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre,, PO Box 3354 Riyadh 11211 MBC 58, Saudi Arabia, T: +966-11-4647272 Ext. 27763, F: +966-11-4427784, hsharani@kfshrc.edu.sa.
authors.forename: Hussain
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alshamrani
authors.forename: Amal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bakhswain
authors.forename: Zakaria
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Habib
authors.forename: Hoda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kattan
mesh_terms: D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000209:etiology; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009339:Needles; D014839:Vomiting / Q000209:etiology