Published online April 27, 2009
PEDIATRICS Vol. 123 No. 5 May 2009, pp. 1409-1411 (doi:10.1542/peds.2009-0408)
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POLICY STATEMENT

Abusive Head Trauma in Infants and Children

Cindy W. Christian, MD, Robert Block, MD and the Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect

Shaken baby syndrome is a term often used by physicians and the public to describe abusive head trauma inflicted on infants and young children. Although the term is well known and has been used for a number of decades, advances in the understanding of the mechanisms and clinical spectrum of injury associated with abusive head trauma compel us to modify our terminology to keep pace with our understanding of pathologic mechanisms. Although shaking an infant has the potential to cause neurologic injury, blunt impact or a combination of shaking and blunt impact cause injury as well. Spinal cord injury and secondary hypoxic ischemic injury can contribute to poor outcomes of victims. The use of broad medical terminology that is inclusive of all mechanisms of injury, including shaking, is required. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatricians develop skills in the recognition of signs and symptoms of abusive head injury, including those caused by both shaking and blunt impact, consult with pediatric subspecialists when necessary, and embrace a less mechanistic term, abusive head trauma, when describing an inflicted injury to the head and its contents.

Abbreviations: AHT—abusive head trauma


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The following policy statement has been revised:

Shaken Baby Syndrome: Rotational Cranial Injuries{---}Technical Report

Pediatrics 108: 206-210. [Full Text]



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eLetters:

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Pediatrics Online, 28 Oct 2009 [Full text]
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