Summary
Multicenter registry of child abuse cases in emergency departments: records for 1 year
Trenchs Sainz De La Maza V, Curcoy Barcenilla AI
Affiliation of the authors
Servicio de Urgencias, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona, Spain.
DOI
Quote
Trenchs Sainz De La Maza V, Curcoy Barcenilla AI. Multicenter registry of child abuse cases in emergency departments: records for 1 year. Emergencias. 2014;26:468-71
Summary
Background and objective: The Child Abuse Registry of the Spanish Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine was created to determine the frequency of emergency department visits with abused children. Our aim of was to analyze the results for the first year of reporting to the case registry.
Methods: Prospective multicenter study. The 13 emergency departments participating in the project reported cases in which patients under the age of 15 years had injuries that were believed to be caused by abuse.
Results: A total of 471 cases (9 per 10 000 visits) were attended; the mean age was 5.2 years, and 58.6% of the patients were girls. Abuse was sexual in 37.8% of the cases; physical violence accounted for 37.2%, negligence for 20.6%, and emotional abuse for 4.5%. The primary care physician was notified in 38.2% of the cases, social services in 94.5%, the courts in 50.5%, and the department of forensic medicine in 16.8%. Injuries were moderate in 51.2%, minor in 29.9%, and serious in 18.9%. The patient was discharged home in 76.9% of the cases and to a shelter in 9.8%. Thirteen percent
of the patients were hospitalized and 0.4% died. Cases of sexual and emotional abuse are more common in girls (79.7% and 63.8%, respectively). Physical abuse and
negligence are more common in boys (54.5% and 56.6%) (P<.001). Cases of negligence involve younger children (median age, 1.9 years) while other forms of abuse occur in older children (median age 5.8 years for sexual and physical abuse and 6.9 years for emotional abuse) (P<.001). Conclusions: Visits to the emergency room to treat injuries resulting from abuse are not frequent. Most cases that do reach the emergency department, however, involve injuries that are moderate or serious and various types of professional intervention are required to guarantee the childs safety. Visits for sexual abuse more often involve girls, while cases of negligence more often involve infants or toddlers.