Child abuse & neglect
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Child abuse & neglect · Nov 2011
Diagnostic coding of abuse related fractures at two children's emergency departments.
Pediatric fractures suspicious for abuse are often evaluated in emergency departments (ED), although corresponding diagnostic coding for possible abuse may be lacking. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to determine the proportion of fracture cases investigated in the ED for abuse that had corresponding International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes documenting abuse suspicion. Additional objectives were to determine the proportion of these fractures with admission ICD abuse coding, and physician text diagnoses recording abuse suspicion in the ED and/or admission notes. Factors possibly associated with abuse-related ED ICD codes were also examined. ⋯ Current standards of ICD coding result in a significant underestimate of the prevalence of children assessed in the ED and hospital wards for possible and confirmed abusive fracture(s).
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Child abuse & neglect · Nov 2011
Abusive head trauma at a tertiary care children's hospital in Mexico City. A preliminary study.
Determine the prevalence, clinical signs and symptoms, and demographic and family characteristics of children attending a tertiary care hospital in Mexico City, Mexico, to illustrate the characteristics of abusive head trauma among this population. ⋯ In a tertiary care children's hospital, 11% of the children presenting with head trauma, were considered of abusive origin. Unintended pregnancy among teen mothers and substance abuse in the father were associated with abusive head trauma in this descriptive study.
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The objective of this study was to describe malicious nonpharmaceutical exposures in children reported to US poison centers. ⋯ Clinicians should consider the possibility of child abuse when presented with these exposures.