title: Abusive head trauma: two case reports.
abstract: Abusive head trauma is a serious form of child abuse and mostly seen in infants below the age of two years as a result of a strong shaking by the caregiver who aims to stop the infant's crying. Characteristic symptoms include subdural hematomas, encephalopathy, retinal hemorrhages and fractures of the long bones. When physically examined, there are generally no externally visible signs. For this reason, it can be underdiagnosed, if it is not considered in the differential diagnosis. When the information provided from the parents is inconsistent and contradictory with the clinical picture of the patient, this form of abuse must be suspected and retinal hemorrhages should be searched. In this article, two patients who were admitted to our emergency department and diagnosed with physical child abuse are reported. One of these patients had a history of minor head trauma after falling down from the sofa and the other one had a history of breathlessness and loss of consciousness as a result of excessive crying.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Pediatrics, The Ministry of Health İzmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kanık
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Pediatrics, The Ministry of Health İzmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Osman Tolga
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: İnce
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Pediatrics, The Ministry of Health İzmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Şehriban
authors.initials: Ş
authors.lastname: Yeşiloğlu
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Pediatrics, The Ministry of Health İzmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kayı
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Eliaçık
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Pediatrics, The Ministry of Health İzmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ali Rahmi
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Bakiler
keywords: Child abuse; head trauma; retinal hemorrhage