Increased severity of abusive head trauma during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abusive head trauma (AHT) is the leading cause of death from physical abuse in children. Reports regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rates and severity of AHT are limited and with conflicting results.

To determine the number and clinical characteristics of AHT cases presenting to a pediatric tertiary care center during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the two prior years.

We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients <5 years old diagnosed with AHT at a single pediatric tertiary care center over a three-year period.

Data were obtained for the pandemic year and two years before, including demographics, length of stay, physical and retinal examination findings, radiologic studies, electroencephalogram results, and mortality.

There were 27 cases of AHT during the first year of the pandemic and 55 during the two pre-pandemic years. Length of stay was similar for the two cohorts. The mortality rate was higher during the pandemic (29.6 % vs. 3.6 %; p < .01), as were the proportion of patients with retinal hemorrhages (84.6 % vs. 41.5 %; p < .01) and abnormal cervical spine imaging (52.6 % vs. 21.2 %; p = .02). There were no differences in age, sex, race, abnormalities on dermatological exam, skeletal surveys, and electroencephalograms.

We did not observe an increase in the number of patients with AHT during the pandemic but did see an increase in mortality, patients with retinal hemorrhages, and patients with abnormalities on cervical spine imaging. These data suggest a higher severity of AHT presenting to a pediatric tertiary care center during the pandemic.