Physical abuse of children: a review for orthopedic surgeons

Statistics show that more than half the victims of child abuse have fractures. The orthopedic surgeon will often be the first person to identify a potentially abused child. In a series at Brenner Children's Hospital, 17% of abused children had a fracture as the initial manifestation of child abuse. For protection of the child, it is essential that the orthopedic surgeon recognize the signs of child abuse and make a referral to the appropriate child protection agency. In this review article, we discuss recognition of common types of child abuse and outline appropriate management of child abuse cases.