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In 1974 John Caffey described a form of abuse in infants which he called "The Whiplash Shaken Infant Syndrome." This syndrome involves vigorous manual shaking of infants by the extremities or shoulders, with whiplash-induced intracranial and intraocular bleeding, but with no external signs of head trauma. This article reviews the literature on whiplash shaken infant syndrome since Caffey's original review. The bulk of this literature focuses on the use of cranial computed tomography in the diagnosis of head injury in infants. Many questions remain regarding the incidence of this syndrome, and the long term morbidity resulting from this type of injury in infants. Caffey's recommendations for routine, regular examinations of the ocular fundi in all babies, and for a massive public educational program on the hazards of shaking infants have yet to be carried out.
Child Abuse Negl 1986
PMID:The whiplash shaken infant syndrome: what has been learned? 351 79

In abused children, subdural hematoma is one of the most common causes of damage to the central nervous system. We report six Japanese cases of child abuse with subdural hematoma and discuss differences from those in the United States. The majority of abused children with subdural hematomas in Japan have suffered direct violence to the face and head, resulting in external signs of trauma. Failure to detect these external traces of trauma, however, might result in an incorrect diagnosis of infantile acute subdural hematoma attributed to accidental trivial head injury. Child abuse with subdural hematoma in the United States is frequently caused by whiplash shaking injury in which external signs of trauma may not be evident. In the United States, retinal hemorrhage and subdural hematoma together suggest child abuse; some cases of infantile acute subdural hematoma might be mistakenly diagnosed as child abuse. Thus, the constellation of retinal bleeding and subdural hematoma combined with the absence of visible signs of trauma is differently interpreted in the United States and Japan.
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PMID:Subdural hematomas in abused children: report of six cases from Japan. 370 22

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) were compared in four children who had evidence of intracranial injury caused by shaking. All children had intracranial bleeding, neurologic impairment, and history or physical examination findings suggestive of child abuse. Three had bilateral retinal hemorrhages, and three had visual impairment. MRI revealed bilateral subdural hematomas in all four children, but CT showed this in only one. Skull fractures in one patient were visualized by CT alone. MRI alone demonstrated posterior fossa bleeding in one patient and intraparenchymal bleeding in another; an additional patient in whom CT showed relatively diffuse atrophy also had defined areas of focal atrophy apparent on MRI. Subarachnoid hemorrhages were equally well detected using CT or MRI. Overall, MRI was superior to CT for detection of intracranial injury caused by shaking, and may help to document milder instances of this form of child abuse.
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PMID:Magnetic resonance imaging of intracranial injuries from child abuse. 378 42

Because a history of shaking is often lacking in the so-called "shaken baby syndrome," diagnosis is usually based on a constellation of clinical and radiographic findings. Forty-eight cases of infants and young children with this diagnosis seen between 1978 and 1985 at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia were reviewed. All patients had a presenting history thought to be suspicious for child abuse, and either retinal hemorrhages with subdural or subarachnoid hemorrhages or a computerized tomography scan showing subdural or subarachnoid hemorrhages with interhemispheric blood. The physical examination and presence of associated trauma were analyzed; autopsy findings for the 13 fatalities were reviewed. All fatal cases had signs of blunt impact to the head, although in more than half of them these findings were noted only at autopsy. All deaths were associated with uncontrollably increased intracranial pressure. Models of 1-month-old infants with various neck and skull parameters were instrumented with accelerometers and shaken and impacted against padded or unpadded surfaces. Angular accelerations for shakes were smaller than those for impacts by a factor of 50. All shakes fell below injury thresholds established for subhuman primates scaled for the same brain mass, while impacts spanned concussion, subdural hematoma, and diffuse axonal injury ranges. It was concluded that severe head injuries commonly diagnosed as shaking injuries require impact to occur and that shaking alone in an otherwise normal baby is unlikely to cause the shaken baby syndrome.
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PMID:The shaken baby syndrome. A clinical, pathological, and biomechanical study. 381 36

Three cases of whiplash shaking injury of infants are presented. All children presented with seizures and had minimal signs of external injury. Examination of the retina revealed extensive retinal hemorrhages. These were missed on initial examination and were only discovered after pupillary dilatation. The presence of these palecentered retinal hemorrhages suggested the diagnosis of child abuse and skeletal surveys and thorough social histories confirmed the diagnosis. Despite extensive retinal hemorrhages, computerized axial tomography (C.T.) scan showed minimal inter-hemispheric bleeding. In contrast to the "Battered Child Syndrome," all the findings in whiplash shaking syndrome of infants are subtle and demand an awareness, an index of suspicion and a thorough examination which may include extensive retinal examination following dilatation of the pupils. This latter examination is frequently not performed by family physicians and residents so that the syndrome may be missed. A fourth case is also discussed where shaking is admitted on initial presentation but said to be done for resuscitation. This poses an immense diagnostic dilemma to the pediatrician since in this case the child presented later with all the signs of physical abuse.
Child Abuse Negl 1983
PMID:Whiplash shaking syndrome: retinal hemorrhages and computerized axial tomography of the brain. 668 73

Child abuse is a complex sociophysical phenomenon in which a child may suffer physical and mental assault ranging from death to emotional deprivation. In this report, an effort is made to identify the pathogenetic mechanisms of head injury in child abuse and to describe the site of injury, incidence of head injury, and difficulties encountered in establishing a doctor-family relationship. During the years 1970 through 1979, 621 children were confirmed victims of child abuse and treated by the medical staff at the Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Of these, there were 77 children (12%) who suffered associated head injuries ranging from cerebral concussion to irreversible brain damage and/or death. 85% of these head-injured children were under the age of 2 years. 62% were male and 38% female. In analyzing the type of injury which resulted in an associated head injury, we learned that 54% of all injuries were caused by direct blows to the head, face and other parts of the body, 35% were due to dropping, throwing or falling; only 8% were caused by 'shaking'. 55 injuries (48%) out of 115 trauma cases were thought to be caused by injury to head or face. 53 patients showed 113 external skin wounds such as ecchymoses of eyes, excoriations, bruises, contusion, hematoma, burns, etc. 46% of all external wounds were found over the head and face. This may probably indicate to us that a traumatic force causing injury to the brain is directed to the head and face. The traumatic mechanisms are analyzed and discussed to assess the behavioral derangement of the assault.
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PMID:Traumatic mechanisms of head injury in child abuse. 688 25

This is a case report of an infant with shaken impact syndrome who required general anesthesia for the repair of pyloric stenosis. This infant suffered neurologic impairment from shaking, which was not only the major etiologic factor but the mechanism of injury as well. Shaking an infant can have devastating consequences. A thorough understanding of the mechanism of injury and the sequelae that result from this type of child abuse are paramount to prevent further damage if the infant requires general anesthesia. Anesthesia providers play a vital role in minimizing secondary injuries in infants with shaken impact syndrome.
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PMID:General anesthetic considerations for the infant with shaken impact syndrome and pyloromyotomy: a case report. 750 45

Child abuse by whiplash-shaking can lead to severe injury in infants, including cerebral damage, neurological defects, blindness, and mental retardation. These findings are seen often without external evidence of head injury. Nurses should suspect shaken baby syndrome (SBS) in infants less than 1 year of age who present with apnea, seizures, lethargy or drowsiness, bradycardia, respiratory difficulty, coma, or death. Subdural and retinal hemorrhages accompanied by the absence of external signs of trauma are hallmarks of the syndrome.
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PMID:Shaken baby syndrome: a nursing perspective. 771 67

The presence and location of ocular hemorrhages were prospectively studied in 169 randomly selected child deaths referred to a medical examiner. Causes of death in the study group included natural diseases and various injuries involving the head, trunk, and asphyxia. Retinal hemorrhages were identified in 70 cases: 62 head injuries, four central nervous system diseases (but not other natural diseases), and four deaths of undetermined cause. The presence of retinal, peripheral retinal, optic nerve sheath, and intrascleral hemorrhages were strongly associated with head injury as compared to other injuries and natural diseases (Yates corrected P-values < 0.001). Among the head-injured with retinal hemorrhages, nine had a history of severe traumatic event (e.g., an unrestrained rear-seat passenger in high-speed collision) and 53 were victims of inflicted injury (e.g. violent shaking). In the absence of a verifiable history of a severe head injury or life-threatening central nervous system disease, retinal and ocular hemorrhages were diagnostic of child abuse.
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PMID:Systemic and ocular findings in 169 prospectively studied child deaths: retinal hemorrhages usually mean child abuse. 798 65

Head trauma is a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population. The type of injury that results depends on the mechanism of trauma and the age of the patient. Newborns, after difficult delivery, may have posteriorly located subdural hematomas owing to tearing of tentorium and venous structures. Young infants are particularly susceptible to shaking injury because of their weak neck muscles and thus may sustain subdural hematomas, shearing injuries, and diffuse swelling. As the child becomes mobile, falls become the number one cause of accidental injury, frequently producing fractures and contusions. In older children and teenagers, motor vehicle accidents predominate as the cause of severe head injury, particularly DAI. By appreciating these and other pertinent factors, the radiologist knows what to search for in a study; knows which modality, CT or MR, to use; and can frequently indicate the prognosis. Most importantly, the radiologist may be the first one to bring attention to the possibility of child abuse.
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PMID:Pediatric head trauma. 808 32


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