Pelvic fractures in infants as a sign of physical abuse

The purpose of this article is to describe pelvic fractures in two abused male infants, and to determine if the literature describes pelvic fractures in infants as suspicious for child physical abuse.

Two infants are described with unexplained pelvic fractures. While in one case child abuse was obvious, careful attention to the radiological evaluation and case history led to the correct diagnosis of child abuse in the second case. A search for information regarding pelvic fractures in children resulted in information limited to the radiological and surgical literature.

Medical providers frequently encounter children with fractures suspicious for child abuse. The most common fractures seen in abused children are metaphyseal, rib, skull, and long bone fractures. This report illustrates that pelvic fractures occurring in the absence of serious, well documented accidents should be considered highly suspicious for child physical abuse.