• K P Bach, A Y Schouten-van Meeteren, L M Smit, L Veenhuizen, and R J Gemke.
• Academisch Ziekenhuis Vrije Universiteit, afd. Kindergeneeskunde, Postbus 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam.
• Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2001 Apr 28; 145 (17): 809-13.

AbstractIn children with head injuries the severity of the neurological symptoms should concord with the patient's history and signs of neurotrauma on examination. Discrepancies between the (hetero)anamnesis and physical examination on the one hand and neurological findings on the other may indicate child abuse. The presence of both old and new intracranial haemorrhages in the absence of proportional trauma is generally considered as evidence for child abuse. However, these symptoms may also be the first manifestation of a congenital coagulation disorder. Three children, two girls aged 8 and 5 months and a boy aged 6 months were presented with alarming neurological symptoms due to intracranial haemorrhages without external signs of head trauma. The first girl had 'shaken baby' syndrome while the other 2 had congenital coagulation disorders (haemophilia B and factor V deficiency, respectively). All three recovered, the last two with remaining one-sided neurological deficits. Child abuse and congenital coagulation disorders may present with similar neurological symptoms and radiological findings. In these patients coagulation tests are mandatory and--if abnormal--enable early substitution of deficits and prevent inappropriate suspicion or accusation of caretakers.

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