[What is the place in pediatric hospitalization for child abuse ? Criteria and guidance]

Child abuse situations are increasingly common clinical situations in pediatrics and, in extenso, in hospital wards. While it remains obvious that the hospital is a place of care and not of life for a child, the fact remains that in a number of cases, it is necessary to offer the child a multidisciplinary assessment in a neutral and secure environment in order to assess the abuse, its impact on the child, the systemic family disorders that underlie it and the orientation towards the most adequate life environment for the child. The hospital and specialized pediatric services then fulfill this mission, which meets strict admission criteria so that the hospital stay guarantees effective therapeutic action. The purpose of this article is to describe the management of situations of child abuse by using multidisciplinary hospital assessments as they are carried out in the Maltraitance Unit of the Pediatric Department of CHU Liège. We will briefly review the admission criteria, the modalities of care and the clinical interest of such hospitalisations.