Epidemiology, Clinical Characteristics and Public Health Implications of Shaken Baby Syndrome (From The Shaken Baby Syndrome: A Multidisciplinary Approach, P 19-40, 2001, Stephen Lazoritz and Vincent J. Palusci, eds. -- See NCJ-195979)

• NCJ Number: 195980
• Author(s): Halim Hennes; Narendra Kini; Vincent J. Palusci
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 22 pages
• Sale Source: Haworth Maltreatment and Trauma Press
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper discusses the sociodemographic characteristics of the "shaken baby" (shaken baby syndrome), along with common risk factors found among infants, families, and perpetrators.

Abstract

Caffey made the first reference to the shaken baby syndrome (SBS) in 1946. He described a group of children with chronic subdural hematomas and associated fractures in various stages of healing. In 1974 he published the first landmark report that described the association between shaking the child and the development of intracranial and ocular hemorrhage. Most clinical studies of child maltreatment and SBS have attempted to identify the factors associated with the victim, perpetrator, and the family; some have also examined geographic differences as well as timing and "triggers" as a cause for shaking. The relationship of the perpetrators to the victims apparently changes with the child's age; mothers are the most likely perpetrators during the first week of life and often the father or stepfather after the first week of life. Recent attention has been given to babysitters as possible perpetrators in cases of fatal child abuse, since more than 60 percent of mothers work outside the home, thus requiring childcare services. There has been a disproportionate incidence of physical child abuse in father-only households compared with children living with both parents or in mother-only households. Generally, young children are at high risk for loss of life from child maltreatment. From 1995 to 1997, nearly 78 percent of the victims were under 5 years old, and 38 percent were under 1 year old. Victims of SBS are usually young children under 1 year old, with a mean age between 5 and 6 months. The characteristic physical findings in SBS include retinal hemorrhage, subdural, and/or subarachnoid hemorrhages in the absence of external trauma. This article also discusses the presenting symptoms, medical history, the physical examination, the laboratory and imaging, differential diagnosis, public health implications, the long-term medical burden of SBS, the cost of SBS, prevention, and future research needs. 4 tables and 69 references