NCJ Number
194961
Journal
Child Maltreatment Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2002 Pages: 138-148
Date Published
2002
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This descriptive study attempted to differentiate children at higher risk for nonaccidental trauma in the form of suffocation and determine the frequency of documented concerns for abuse.
Abstract
Through a retrospective medical record review of 138 young children admitted to a large urban teaching hospital over a 23 year period for recurrent apparent life threatening events (ALTEs), unexplained deaths, or with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) diagnoses, this study attempted to examine the potential for suffocatory abuse in living children. The study described the sample of children in the context of the high-risk abuse characteristics described in current literature and determined the frequency of documented concerns and state-mandated Child Protective Services (CPS) reports filed on the children’s behalf. Study findings indicated a co-occurrence of risk factors that raised suspicions of suffocatory abuse or Munchausen by Proxy (MBP). Results were presented on the characteristics of the full sample of 138 children, characteristics of the 103 living children, characteristics of the 35 child fatalities, and child protection concerns regarding the entire sample. The study reinforced the importance of mandatory autopsy in cases of unexpected infants deaths. Thirty-one percent of the available autopsies clinically presumed SIDS yet demonstrated a non-SIDS cause of death. The study illustrated a changing focus on SIDS and child protective issues over the past 25 years. Recommendations are presented on the assessment of children that include: risk indicators, involvement of child protection teams, mandatory autopsies, and death scene investigations. Several study limitations are presented and discussed. Tables and references