title: Child maltreatment syndrome: demographics and developmental issues of inpatient cases.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to describe the demographic, social, developmental and behavioural profile of children hospitalised for alleged child maltreatment syndrome (CMS).
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was a retrospective review of the consecutive inpatient records of children (0-16 years) admitted to the National University Hospital, Singapore, for alleged CMS over a three-year period. Descriptive data on the demographic characteristics, alleged maltreatment, medical and developmental histories, and family background of these children were collected and analysed. Chi-square statistics were used to test whether family factors were associated with the type of maltreatment and the presence of developmental disorders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 89 children, who accounted for 90 admission cases, were studied. Physical abuse (70.0%) was the most common, followed by neglect (11.1%) and sexual abuse (7.8%). Child protection services had already been involved in 29.2% of the cases prior to the child's admission. Children who were victims of abuse were more likely to come from homes with a prior history of domestic violence (p = 0.028). Financial difficulty was found to be a risk factor for neglect (p = 0.005). Among the 89 children, 15.7% were found to have developmental disorders and 10.1% had mental health diagnoses. Children who had developmental disorders were more likely to have a parent with a mental health disorder (p = 0.002).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A sizeable proportion of the children admitted for alleged CMS had developmental or behavioural disorders. Clinicians have a role in ensuring that these children have appropriate follow-up plans. Children from high-risk families should be screened for maltreatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore ; Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children's Medical Institute, National University Health System, Singapore.
authors.forename: Xin Ying
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Ngiam
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore ; Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children's Medical Institute, National University Health System, Singapore.
authors.forename: Ying Qi
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore ; Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children's Medical Institute, National University Health System, Singapore.
authors.forename: Ramkumar
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aishworiya
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore ; Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children's Medical Institute, National University Health System, Singapore.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kiing
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore ; Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children's Medical Institute, National University Health System, Singapore.
authors.forename: Evelyn Chung Ning
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Law
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002670:Child, Abandoned / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002674:Child, Institutionalized / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054540:Child, Orphaned / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: abuse; behaviour; child maltreatment; development; nonaccidental injury