This focused review on abusive head trauma describes the injuries to the head, brain and/or spine of an infant or young child from inflicted trauma and their neuroimaging correlates. Accurate recognition and diagnosis of abusive head trauma is paramount to prevent repeated injury, provide timely treatment, and ensure that accidental or underlying medical contributors have been considered. In this article, we aim to discuss the various findings on neuroimaging that have been associated with AHT, compared to those that are more consistent with accidental injuries or with underlying medical causes that may also be on the differential.
Adolescents are at high risk for using substances and for young people in foster care, substance use rates are estimated to be as high as 49 %. Adolescence is an important period for preventing substance use and SUD. Universal screening, brief interventions, and substance use treatment can be used to decrease substance use and substance use disorders among adolescents. Brief interventions often used with adolescents include motivational interviewing and contingency management. Of the many types of outpatient therapies utilized to treat adolescents with substance use disorder, some of the most established include cognitive behavioral therapy, family-based therapy, and a combination of different types of interventions. Medication treatment is less frequently offered to adolescents due to buprenorphine being the only drug FDA approved for youth under the age of 18. Residential treatment is also an option if lower levels of care are not adequate to safely support youth. Lastly, limited research has looked at the effectiveness of continuing care options to support youth in maintaining treatment results.
Child physical abuse is a common cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality. Up to half of all children presenting with abusive injuries have a history of a prior suspicious injury, suggesting a pattern of repeated physical abuse. Medical providers are responsible for identifying children with suspicious injuries, completing mandated reporting to child protective services for investigation, and screening for occult injuries and underlying medical conditions that can predispose to injuries. Early identification of inflicted injuries appropriate evaluations may serve as an opportunity for life-saving intervention and prevent further escalation of abuse. However, identification of abuse can be challenging. This article will review both physical exam findings and injuries that suggest abuse as well as the evaluation and management of physical abuse.
Child abuse is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The leading cause of child physical abuse related deaths is abusive head trauma, formerly known as shaken baby syndrome, making the rapid identification and assessment of these children critical. The clinical presentation of cases of abusive head trauma ranges from neurological complaints, such as seizures, to vague or subtle symptoms, such as vomiting. This results in frequent missed diagnoses of abusive head trauma. The identification of abusive head trauma relies on a thorough medical history and physical examination, followed by lab evaluation and imaging. The goal of the evaluation is to discover further injury and identify possible underlying non-traumatic etiologies of the patient's symptoms. In this article we present a framework for the assessment of abusive head trauma and provide information on common presentations and injuries, as well as differential diagnoses. A strong foundational knowledge of abusive head trauma will lead to greater recognition and improved safety planning for victims of this unfortunate diagnosis.
Previously known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, medical child abuse is a form of child maltreatment whereby the caregiver creates an environment in which medical care harms or threatens the wellbeing of a child. Approximately 40-50 % of medical child abuse cases involve neurological symptoms, with fabricated or induced seizures accounting for a significant proportion. Identifying fictitious seizures is often difficult even for the most experienced clinicians. Therefore, having a low threshold for clinical suspicion is essential in the timely diagnosis of medical child abuse. This article provides a review of the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of medical child abuse when it involves seizures.