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THE “MALTREATMENT SYNDROME” IN CHILDREN
Author(s) -
Birrell E. G.,
Birrell J. H. W.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1966.tb91885.x
Subject(s) - medicine , university hospital , family medicine , pediatrics
IT is in the last ten years in Britain and the United States of America that the battered and abused child has become a subject of great interest to the respective medical professions. Thus, although Caftey (1946) reported six infants with chronic subdural heematomas and 23 fractures of long bones between them, it was not until 1962 that the problem was really documented. Caffey had concluded that the injuries to his children were traumatic, but Kempe et alii (1962) reported a nation-wide survey in the U.S.A. of maltreated children, and introduced the term "battered child" syndrome. This syndrome describes unexplained fractures, subdural heematoma, soft-tissue injury with lacerations, bruising and swelling and failure to thrive in young children. These children were mainly aged under three years, frequently presented more than one episode and did well in hospital. Psychiatric problems in one or both parents were often noted.