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Child maltreatment and violence. Contributions from radiologists to a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach
María C Branda1, Loreley Fernández1
1Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital de Niños Ricardo Gutiérrez, City of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Insights
Radiology can reveal physical abuse in children by identifying injury patterns and bone healing timelines. Prompt detection of suspicious imaging findings is crucial for child protection and timely intervention.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Radiology
- Child Abuse Detection
- Forensic Imaging
Background:
- Child maltreatment, defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), encompasses abuse and neglect in individuals under 18.
- Physical abuse leaves detectable bodily traces, often with characteristic radiological patterns.
- Radiological assessment of bone repair can help establish injury timelines, aiding correlation with historical data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent literature on imaging studies in children suspected of physical abuse.
- To highlight the role of radiology in identifying signs of physical violence in children.
- To emphasize the importance of timely detection of radiological lesions for child safeguarding.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of recent publications.
- Analysis of imaging studies in suspected child physical abuse cases.
- Correlation of radiological findings with injury mechanisms and timelines.
Main Results:
- Specific radiological patterns are associated with common injury mechanisms in child abuse.
- Bone repair stages observed in imaging can provide a chronological framework for injuries.
- Timely identification of suspicious radiological lesions is critical.
Conclusions:
- Radiological examination is essential for detecting physical abuse in children.
- Imaging findings, particularly bone repair, aid in establishing injury timelines.
- Healthcare providers must be vigilant in identifying and reporting suspected child abuse based on radiological evidence.
Abstract:
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines child maltreatment as "the abuse and neglect that occurs to children under 18 years of age. It includes all types of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment [...], which results in actual or potential harm to the child's health, survival, development or dignity." By examining the bodily traces of physical abuse, following the most frequently involved mechanisms of injury, it is possible to identify typical radiological patterns. The imaging studies of the bone under repair allows inferring a timeline that may be correlated to the data obtained during history taking. Health care providers should detect suspicious radiological lesions in a timely manner and promptly activate the safeguarding of the child. Our objective was to review recent publications on the imaging studies of children suspected of being victims of physical violence.
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