Clinicians must always exclude child abuse in cases of subdural haemorrhage

Media coverage of the Louise Woodward case in the United States and more recent cases in the United Kingdom have increased public awareness of the shaken baby syndrome. The subject has been widely researched in both pathological and clinical terms. On p 1558 Jayawant et al provide one of the few epidemiological descriptions of the condition. The authors confirm that subdural haemorrhage in infants is a common and serious problem that carries a high risk of death and serious disability. Most cases arise from physical child abuse, but in a significant number of cases the cause is unexplained. It is essential that clinicians maintain a high level of suspicion of child abuse and investigate each case fully.


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Relevant Article

Subdural haemorrhages in infants: population based study

S Jayawant, A Rawlinson, F Gibbon, J Price, J Schulte, P Sharples, J R Sibert, and A M Kemp
BMJ 1998 317: 1558-1561. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]