Archives of disease in childhood
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Comparative Study
Abusive head trauma and accidental head injury: a 20-year comparative study of referrals to a hospital child protection team.
To describe children referred for suspected abusive head trauma (AHT) to a hospital child protection team in Auckland, New Zealand. ⋯ The striking increase in referrals for AHT probably represents increasing incidence. The decision to refer a hospitalised child with a head injury for assessment for possible AHT should not be influenced by socio-economic status or ethnicity. Children over 2 years old hospitalised for AHT are usually injured by mechanisms involving impact and should be considered at high risk of death.
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Multicenter Study
Head injury from falls in children younger than 6 years of age.
The risk of serious head injury (HI) from a fall in a young child is ill defined. The relationship between the object fallen from and prevalence of intracranial injury (ICI) or skull fracture is described. ⋯ Most HIs from a fall in these children admitted to hospital were minor. Infants, dropped from a carer's arms, those who fell from infant products, a window, wall or from an attic had the greatest chance of ICI or skull fracture. These data inform prevention and the assessment of the likelihood of serious injury when the object fallen from is known.