Infants who sustain head injuries due to abuse have worse outcomes than their peers with head trauma due to other causes, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics this month.
The findings stem from a study of 54 children who were hospitalized for acute head trauma when they were younger than 36 months of age. The head trauma was classified as accidental, or noninflicted, in 30 children, inflicted in 11, and undetermined in 13, the report indicates.
Dr. Kent P. Hymel from Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children, Falls Church, Virginia and colleagues found that children with inflicted trauma were more likely to have greater injuries and to have heart and breathing difficulties, relative to children with noninflicted head trauma.
Other findings seen in the inflicted head trauma group included lower initial neurological function scores on a standard scale, increased impairments in consciousness, and a higher rate of brain injury.
At 6-month follow-up after the injury, children with inflicted injuries had lower mental developmental index scores and gross motor scores than those with noninflicted injuries.
"Young victims of inflicted head trauma require thorough neurodevelopmental assessment and monitoring," the authors conclude.
SOURCE: Pediatrics, May 2007.
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