title: The Intersection of Medical Child Abuse and Medical Complexity.
abstract: Children with medical complexity and victims of medical child abuse may have similar clinical presentations. Atypical or unexplained signs and symptoms due to rare diseases may lead providers to suspect medical child abuse when not present. Conversely, medical child abuse may be the cause of or coexist with medical complexity. Careful consideration of whether or not medical child abuse is present is essential when assessing a child with medical complexity since either diagnosis has significant consequences for children and families.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA. Electronic address: hpetska@chw.org.
authors.forename: Hillary W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Petska
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jablonski
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Lynn K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Sheets
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002669:Child Welfare; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D016735:Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009626:Terminology as Topic
keywords: Caregiver-fabricated illness; Child abuse; Child maltreatment; Children and youth with special healthcare needs; Medical child abuse; Medical complexity; Munchausen syndrome by proxy