Epidemiology of Abusive Head Trauma Among Children in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background and objectives: To examine abusive head trauma (AHT) trends using data obtained from hospital-based child protection centers (CPCs) and the distribution of age in months among young children in Saudi Arabia.Methods: A retrospective study was conducted that includes data obtained from 58 hospital-based CPCs in all 13 regions of Saudi Arabia registered in the National Family Safety Registry from 2010 to 2020. AHT cases (n=106) were identified for inclusion in the registry by a daily review of the emergency department logbooks.Results: Over the 11-year period, there was a sharp increase in the number of cases, specifically after 2014, from seven cases per year in 2010 to 16 cases in 2020. AHT affects predominantly children aged 0-12 months (72.6%), followed by 13-24 months (17.9%), 25-36 months (3.8%), 37-48 months (3.8%), and 49-60 months (1.9%). Victims were characterized by a predominance of crying infants (23.6%), past history of abuse (13.2%), a child's chronic disease and disability (7.6%), and prematurity (2.8%). Conclusion:Different training and educational programs need to be performed to raise awareness of AHT. Enacting the pediatrician's mandatory reporting law will improve the rate of reporting cases.

Awareness of parents about shaken baby syndrome in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

“…It is defined as "a devastating form of inflicted traumatic brain injury that occurs when a young child is and coma. Commonly mentioned risk factors for SBS are parents not expecting babies, single caregivers, parental depression, substance abuse, Low education and economic status (Alanazi et al, 2021;Mian et al, 2015). SBS carries a significant risk of serious complications most commonly, partial or total blindness, developmental delays, severe brain injuries and eventually death (Mian et al, 2015).…”

“…After this observation and considering the risks of SBS, parents' education should not be over looked. Since education and economic status are risk factors for SBS, increasing parents' awareness could reduce SBS incidence and complications (Alanazi et al, 2021). Furthermore, a pilot awareness program conducted in Saudi Arabia revealed that 77% of the participating parents had little to no knowledge of SBS risk factors, mechanisms and complications.…”