This summarises the Core-info leaflet on head and spinal injuries in children. Full details are available at www.core-info.cardiff.ac.uk.
**PLEASE REFER ALL SUSPECTED INFLICTED HEAD AND SPINAL INJURIES TO PAEDIATRICS **
Inflicted head injuries
- can arise from shaking and/or impact
- occurs most commonly in the under 2’s
- are the leading cause of death among children who have been abused
- survivors may have significant long term disabilities
- must be treated promptly to minimise long term consequences
- victims often have been subject to previous physical abuse
Signs of inflicted head injury
- may be obvious eg. loss of consciousness, fitting, paralysis, irritability
- can be more subtle eg. poor feeding, excessive crying, increasing OFC
- particular features include retinal haemorrhages, rib fractures, bruising to the head and/or neck and apnoeas
- also look for other injuries including bites, fractures, oral injuries
If inflicted head injury is suspected
- a CT head, skull X-ray and/or MRI brain should be performed
- neuro-imaging findings include subdural haemorrhages +/- subarachnoid haemorrhages (extradural haemorrhages are
more common in non-inflicted injuries) - needs thorough examination including ophthalmology and skeletal survey
- co-existing spinal injuries should be considered
- any child with an unexplained brain injury need a full investigation eg. for metabolic and haematological conditions, before a diagnosis of abuse can be made
The following diagram comes from http://www.primary-surgery.org:
These CT images are from http://www.hawaii.edu/medicine/pediatrics/pemxray/v5c07.html:
EXTRADURAL (or epidural) haematoma
SUBDURAL haemorrhages in a 4 month old
SUBARACHNOID haemorrhage in a 14 month old
Neuro-imaging for inflicted brain injury should be performed in
- any infant with abusive injuries
- any child with abusive injuries and signs and symptoms of brain injury
Inflicted spinal injuries
- come in 2 categories : neck injuries, and chest or lower back injuries
- neck injuries are most common under 4 months
- neck injuries are often associated with brain injury and/or retinal haemorrhages
- chest or lower back injuries are most common in older toddlers over 9 months
- if a spinal fracture is seen on X-ray or a spinal cord injury is suspected, an MRI should be performed