Pattern of injury in child fatalities resulting from child abuse

Ross, Ann H.; Abel, Suzanne M.; Radisch, Deborah

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.03.021

Cited by 22 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Consistent with other reports (Moniruzzaman & Andersson, 2005;Ross et al, 2009;Lucas et al, 2002), our study showed that child homicide occurred more frequently among males with a sex ratio of 2.4. However, this finding differed from those of other researchers where females outnumbered males in all age groups (Lyman et al, 2003;Schloesser et al, 1992).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Child homicide in northern Tunisia: a retrospective study of forensic autopsy cases

Grayaa

Kort

Naceur

et al. 2021

Egypt J Forensic Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background As far as we know, no previous research has investigated child homicide in Tunisia. In this context, our study was carried out to analyze the epidemiological and medico-legal characteristics of child homicide occurring in northern Tunisia over a 17-year period. Results Eighty-seven cases were collected, with a male-to-female ratio of 2.4. The mean age of the victims was 12.6 years for both sexes. We found that 56.3% of the cases were aged between 15 and 18 years. The majority of deaths under 15 years of age occurred at home as a result of intrafamilial homicide. Victims aged more than 15 years were more likely to be assaulted outside the home by a non-family member. The most frequent method of homicide was sharp force (39%) affecting mostly the heart and the lung, followed by blunt trauma (25%), which affected mainly the head. Sexual assault was diagnosed at autopsy in six victims (6.9%). Conclusions The study offers available data concerning the patterns of child homicide in northern Tunisia and may help to implement preventive measures against this kind of crime.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Child homicide in northern Tunisia: a retrospective study of forensic autopsy cases

Grayaa

Kort

Naceur

et al. 2021

Egypt J Forensic Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Z kolei Ross i wsp. [44] wykazali, że obrażenia najczęściej zlokalizowane są w obrębie czaszki i twarzy, rzadziej na klatce piersiowej i brzuchu.…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

“…Typical locations for non-accidental injuries include the ears, side of the face, neck and nape, and top of the shoulders (referred to as the "triangle of safety"), as well as the eye region, cheeks, inner aspect of arms, forearms, chest, back and side of the trunk, perineal and genital areas, inner aspect of thighs and soles of feet [10,14,22,43]. However, Ross et al [44] demonstrated that injuries were located primarily on the skull and face, less commonly on the chest and abdomen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Battered child syndrome in the records of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Białystok

Ptaszyńska-Sarosiek¹,

Niemcunowicz‐Janica²,

Iłędo³

et al. 2017

amsik

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Violence against children has been until now recognised as physical aggression escalating from corporal punishment, hard physical labour to homicide. Nowadays child abuse is considered as maltreatment occurring in four different aspects: physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. Child abuse is difficult to disclose, as it is concealed both by the perpetrators and the victims. The child is afraid and at the same time, almost always ashamed of looking for help. The victim frequently feels guilty, considers the violence as a norm, but in many cases is not able to speek precisely and very often has problems in contacting the required person. The objective of this study is to analyse the phenomenon of child abuse on the basis of Department of Forensic Medicine records. The victims were characterized in terms of their age, sex, place of residence and the type and location of injuries. The kind of abuse and perpetrators were also determined by researchers.

show abstract

“…Despite the lack of pathognomonic signs for child abuse, there are several skeletal findings and injury patterns that are believed to be moderately to highly suggestive of child abuse [7,18]. Among them, head injuries occupy a significant place since the craniofacial regions have been recognized as the most frequently injured area in child maltreatment cases [19]. Head injuries represent the most common cause of death in abused children [20] (as an isolated finding or in combination with other injuries), but also a common type of accidental trauma in children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alagille syndrome case report: implications for forensic pathology and anthropology

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This case report offers a multidisciplinary interpretation of the violent death of a 4-year-old girl suffering from Alagille syndrome who died after a low-height fall that resulted in temporal bone fracture and a large epidural hematoma. The article evidences the macroscopical and microscopical characteristics of the syndrome, focusing especially on the skeletal findings that emerged during autopsy. In the case report, distinction is made between a possible accidental or non-accidental nature of the injuries and the characteristics of the injury have been interpreted in the light of the existing data on Alagille syndrome. In conclusion, the death was documented as accidental since abnormalities in the skeletal system evidenced during autopsy have predisposed the death of the child albeit through a very mild head trauma. The case report evidences the importance of studying features of skull macro- and microstructure in patients with Alagille syndrome, which have been, until now, underreported in literature and which might contribute to fracture vulnerability in these patients. Although rare, Alagille syndrome is a condition that should be known to forensic medicine practitioners and whose features and peculiarities must be taken into consideration in pediatric autopsy and suspected child abuse cases.

show abstract

Pattern of injury in child fatalities resulting from child abuse

Cited by 22 publications

References 18 publications

Child homicide in northern Tunisia: a retrospective study of forensic autopsy cases

Child homicide in northern Tunisia: a retrospective study of forensic autopsy cases

Battered child syndrome in the records of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Białystok

Alagille syndrome case report: implications for forensic pathology and anthropology

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About