Child abuse and violence as reasons for injuries in childhood

摘要

abstract_textpDuring childhood injuries are one of the most common reasons for a consultation, second only to infectious diseases. Not as rare as aspected these injuries are caused by maltreatment. The aim of this study is to show the frequency of non-accidental injuries (NAI) in the patient group from a pediatric hospital in East Germany./ppOver a 12-month period all cases of injured children who needed to be hospitalized for treatment were registered. In a computer based questionnaire various parameters, such as age, sex, social status, and accident details were documented./ppA total of 573 injured children and adolescents needed inpatient treatment. In 86.7 of the cases injuries resulted from an accident. In 8.6 of all cases a connection to violence could be found mostly in the form of head and soft tissue injuries./ppThe findings show the importance of a detailed and specific anamnesis and physical exploration of children with trauma. Recognition of maltreated children does not only apply to pediatricians, but also to physicians of several specializations./p/abstract_text