Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology
Published in: Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology 3/2014

01-09-2014 | Review

A brief history of fatal child maltreatment and neglect

Authors: Ann H. Ross, Chelsey A. Juarez

Published in: Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology | Issue 3/2014

Login to get access

Abstract

Child abuse encompasses four major forms of abuse: physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect. The United States retains one of the worst records of child abuse in the industrialized world. It has also been determined that a large portion of these cases are missed and go undocumented in state and federal reporting agencies. In addition, disparate risk factors have been identified for physical abuse and neglect cases, but substance abuse has been found to be a significant factor in all forms of abuse. Fatal child maltreatment and neglect investigations require a multi-pronged and multidisciplinary approach requiring the coordination and information gathering from various agencies. A major difficulty in determining the accidental or non-accidental nature of these cases is that the account surrounding the events of the death of child is acquired from the caretaker. In this review, we outline common diagnostic characteristics and patterns of non-accidental injuries and neglect as a result of nutritional deprivation.
Literature
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Ross AH, Abel S, Radisch D. Pattern of injury in child fatalities resulting from child abuse. Forensic Sci Int. 2009;188:99–102.PubMedCrossRef
6.
7.
Brown J, Cohen P, Johnson J, Salzinger S. A longitudinal analysis of risk factors for child maltreatment: findings of a 17-year prospective study of officially recorded and self-reported child abuse and neglect. Child Abuse Negl. 1998;22:1065–78.PubMedCrossRef
8.
McGee RA, Wolfe DA, Yuen SA, Wilson SK, Carnochan J. The measurement of maltreatment: a comparison of approaches. Child Abuse Negl. 1995;2:233–49.CrossRef
9.
Belsky J, Vondra J. Lessons from child abuse: the determinants of parenting. In: Cicchetti D, Carlson V, editors. Current research and theoretical advances in child maltreatment. Cambridge: University Press; 1989. p. 153–202.CrossRef
10.
Chadwick DL, Castillo EM, Kuelbs C, Cox SA, Lindsay SP. Missed and missing cases of abusive injuries: the magnitude and the measurement of the problem. Child Abuse Negl. 2010;34:943–50.PubMedCrossRef
11.
Flaherty EG. Does the wording of the mandate to report suspected child abuse serve as another barrier to child abuse reporting? Child Abuse Negl. 2006;30:341–3.PubMedCrossRef
12.
Ragan KL. Fatal child maltreatment: the challenges of identifying the causes and incidence of deaths from abuse and neglect. In: Ross AH, Abel S, editors. The juvenile skeleton in forensic abuse investigations. New York: Humana Press; 2011. p. 7–17.CrossRef
13.
Kempe CH, Silverman FN, Steele BF, Droegemueller W, Silver HK. The battered child syndrome. J Am Med Assoc. 1962;181:17–24.CrossRef
14.
Jason J, Andereck N. Fatal child abuse in Georgia: the epidemiology of severe physical child abuse. Child Abuse Negl. 1983;7:1–9.PubMedCrossRef
15.
16.
Damashek A, Nelson MM, Bonner BL. Fatal child maltreatment: characteristics of deaths from physical abuse versus neglect. Child Abuse Negl. 2013;37:735–44.PubMedCrossRef
17.
Asser S, Swan R. Child fatalities from religion-motivated medical neglect. Pediatrics. 1998;101:621–5.CrossRef
18.
Knight LD, Collins KA. A 25-year retrospective review of deaths due to pediatric neglect. Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2005;26:221–8.PubMedCrossRef
19.
Palusci V, Wirtz S, Covington T. Using capture-recapture methods to better ascertain the incidence of fatal child maltreatment. Child Abuse Negl. 2010;34:396–402.PubMedCrossRef
20.
Ross AH. Fatal starvation/malnutrition: medicolegal investigation from the juvenile skeleton. In: Ross AH, Abel S, editors. The juvenile skeleton in forensic abuse investigations. New York: Humana Press; 2011. p. 151–65.CrossRef
21.
Ubelaker DH, Montaperto KM. Biomechanical and remodeling factors in the interpretation of fractures in juveniles. In: Ross AH, Abel S, editors. The juvenile skeleton in forensic abuse investigations. New York: Humana Press; 2011. p. 33–48.CrossRef
22.
Bilo RAC, Robben SGF, Van Rijn RR. General aspects of fractures in child abuse. In: Mattei P, editor. The fundamentals of pediatric surgery. New York: Springer; 2011. p. 1–13.
23.
Cramer KE, Green NE. Child abuse. In: Green NE, Swiontkowski MF, editors. Skeletal trauma in children, vol. 3. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 2003. p. 587–605.
24.
25.
Kemp AM, Dunstan F, Harrison S, Morris S, Mann M, Rolfe K, Datta S, Thomas DP, Sibert JR, Maguire S. Patterns of skeletal fractures in child abuse: systematic review. BMJ. 2008;337:1–8.CrossRef
26.
Falcone RA, Makoroff K. Child abuse. In: Mattei P, editor. The fundamentals of pediatric surgery. New York: Springer; 2011. p. 169–73.CrossRef
27.
Clarke NMP, Shelton FRM, Taylor CC, Khan T, Needhirajan S. Incidence of fractures in children under the age of 24 months in relation to non-accidental injury. Injury. 2012;43:762–5.PubMedCrossRef
28.
Gill DF. Identifying child abuse. Clin Rev. 2012;22:29–36.
29.
King J, Diefendorf D, Apthorp J, Negrete VF, Carlson M. Analysis of 429 fractures in 189 battered children. J Pediatr Orthop. 1988;8:585–9.PubMed
30.
Leventhal J, Thomas S, Rosenfield N, Markowitz R. Fractures in young children. Distinguishing child abuse from unintentional injuries. Am J Dis Child. 1993;147:87–92.PubMedCrossRef
31.
Rang M, Wenger D. Children are not just small adults. In: Rang M, Wenger D, Pring ME, editors. Rang’s childrens fractures. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2005. p. 1–10.
32.
Humphries AL. Basic juvenile skeletal anatomy and growth and development. In: Ross AH, Abel S, editors. The juvenile skeleton in forensic abuse investigations. New York: Humana Press; 2011. p. 19–31.CrossRef
33.
Galloway A. Broken bones: anthropological analysis of blunt force trauma. Springfield: C.C. Thomas; 1999.
34.
Abel S. Non-accidental skeletal trauma. In: Ross AH, Abel S, editors. The juvenile skeleton in forensic abuse investigations. New York: Humana Press; 2011. p. 61–77.CrossRef
35.
Kleinman PK. Diagnostic imaging in infant abuse. Am J Roentgenol. 1990;155:703–12.CrossRef
36.
37.
Maguire S, Cowley L, Mann M, Kemp A. What does the recent literature add to the identification and investigation of fractures in child abuse: an overview of review updates 2005–2013. Evidence-Based Child Health: A Cochrane Rev J. 2013;8:2044–57.CrossRef
38.
Harlan SR, Nixon GW, Campbell KA, Hansen K, Prince JS. Follow-up skeletal surveys for nonaccidental trauma: can a more limited survey be performed? Pediatr Radiol. 2009;39:962–8.PubMedCrossRef
39.
Karmazyn B, Lewis ME, Jennings SG, Hibbard RA, Hicks RA. The prevalence of uncommon fractures on skeletal surveys performed to evaluate for suspected abuse in 930 children: should practice guidelines change? Am J Roentgenol. 2011;197:w159–63.CrossRef
40.
Glencross B, Stuart-Macadam P. Childhood trauma in the archaeological record. Int J Osteoarchaol. 2000;10:198–209.CrossRef
41.
Swischuk L, Hernandez JA. Frequently missed fractures in children (value of comparative views). Emerg Radiol. 2004;11:22–8.PubMedCrossRef
42.
Caffey J. The whiplash shaken infant syndrome: manual shaking by the extremities with whiplash-induced intracranial and intraocular bleedings, linked with residual permanent brain damage and mental retardation. Pediatrics. 1974;54:395–403.
43.
Lancon JA, Haines DE, Parent AD. Anatomy of the shaken baby syndrome. New Anat. 1998;253:13–8.CrossRef
44.
Hymel KP, Spivak BS. The biomechanics of physical injury. In: Reece RM, Ludwig S, editors. Child abuse: medical diagnosis and management. 2nd ed. Hagerstown, MD: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2001. p. 1–22.
45.
46.
Hymel KP, Makoroff KL, Laskey AL, Conaway MR, Blackman JA. Mechanisms, clinical presentations, injuries and outcomes from inflicted versus non-inflicted head trauma during infancy: results of a prospective multicentered, comparative study. Pediatrics. 2007;119:922–9.PubMedCrossRef
47.
Piteau SJ, Ward MGK, Barrowman NJ, Plint AC. Clinical and radiographic characteristics associated with abusive and nonabusive head trauma: a systematic review. Pediatrics. 2012;130:315–23.PubMedCrossRef
48.
49.
50.
Findley KA, Barnes PD, Moran DA, Squier W. Shaken baby syndrome, abusive head trauma, and actual innocence: getting it right. Hous J Health Law Policy. 2012;12:209–312.
51.
Tuerkheimer D. The next innocence project: shaken baby syndrome and the criminal courts. Wash Univ Law Rev. 2009;87:1–58.
52.
Moreno JA, Holmgren B. Dissent into confusion: the Supreme Court, denialism, and the false “scientific” controversy over shaken baby syndrome. Utah Law Rev. 2013;2013:153–217.
53.
54.
Kleinman PK, Marks SC. A regional approach to the classic metaphyseal lesion in abused infants: the distal femur. Am J Roentgenol. 1998;170:43–7.CrossRef
55.
56.
57.
Pandya NK, Baldwin K, Wolfgruber H, Christian CW, Drummond DS, Hosalkar HS. Child abuse and orthopaedic injury patterns: analysis at a level 1 pediatric trauma center. J Pediatr Orthop. 2009;28:618–25.CrossRef
58.
Pandya NK, Baldwin K, Kamath AF, Wenger DR, Hosalkar HS. Unexplained fractures: child abuse or bone disease. A systematic review. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2011;469:805–12.PubMedCentralPubMedCrossRef
59.
Kleinman PK. Prevalence of the classic metaphyseal lesion in infants versus high risk for abuse. Am J Roentgenol. 2011;197:1005–8.CrossRef
60.
Haney SB, Boas SC, Kutz TJ, Starling SP. Transverse fracture of the distal femoral metadiaphysis: a plausible accidental mechanism. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2009;25:841–4.PubMedCrossRef
61.
Merten DF, Radkowski MA, Leonidas JC. The abused child: a radiological reappraisal. Radiology. 1983;146:377–81.PubMedCrossRef
62.
Hechter S, Huyer D, Manson D. Sternal fractures as a manifestation of abusive injury in children. Pediatr Radiol. 2002;32:902–6.PubMedCrossRef
63.
Barsness KA, Cha E, Bensard DD, Calkins CM, Patrick DA, Strain JD. The positive predictive value of rib fractures as an indicator of nonaccidental trauma in children. J Trauma. 2003;54:1107–10.PubMedCrossRef
64.
Kraft JK. Imaging of non-accidental injury. Orthop Trauma. 2012;25:109–18.CrossRef
65.
66.
Cadzow SP, Armstrong KL. Rib fractures in infants: red alert! J Paediatr Child Health. 2000;36:322–6.PubMedCrossRef
67.
Tun K, Choudhary AK, Methratta S, Boal DK. Radiological features of non-accidental injury. J Radiol Nurs. 2012;32:3–9.CrossRef
68.
Love JC, Derrick SM, Wiersema JM, Pinto DC, Greele C, Donaruma-Kwoh M, Bista B. Novel classification system of rib fractures observed in infants. J Forensic Sci. 2013;58:330–5.PubMedCrossRef
69.
Feldman K, Brewer D. Child abuse: cardiopulmonary resuscitation and rib fractures. Pediatrics. 1984;73:339–42.PubMed
70.
Yang K, Lynch M, O’Donnell C. “Buckle” rib fracture: an artifact following cardiopulmonary resuscitation detected on postmortem CT. Leg Med. 2011;13:233–9.CrossRef
71.
Kleinman PK, Marks SC, Blackbourne B. The metaphyseal lesion in abused infants: a radiologic–histopathologic study. Am J Roentgenol. 1986;8:585–9.
72.
Defilippi C, Santoro B, Pautasso P. Bony lesions from non-accidental trauma. In: Martino F, editor. Imaging of pediatric bone and joint trauma. Milan: Springer; 2011. p. 187–202.CrossRef
73.
Duffy SO, Squires J, Fromkin JB, Berger RP. Use of skeletal surveys to evaluate for physical abuse: analysis of 703 consecutive skeletal surveys. Pediatrics. 2011;127:e47–52.PubMedCrossRef
74.
Cardoso H, Magalhães T. Evidence of neglect from immature human skeletal remains: an auxological approach from teeth and bones. In: Ross AH, Abel S, editors. The juvenile skeleton in forensic abuse investigations. New York: Humana Press; 2011. p. 125–50.CrossRef
75.
Welch G, Bonner B. Fatal child neglect: characteristics, causation, and strategies for prevention. Child Abuse Negl. 2013;37:745–52.PubMedCrossRef
76.
77.
Kellogg ND, Lukefahr JL. Criminally prosecuted cases of child starvation. Pediatrics. 2005;116:1309–16.PubMedCrossRef
78.
Collins KA. Intentional starvation/malnutrition and dehydration in children. In: Griest K, editor. Pediatric homicide. Medical investigation. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2010. p. 169–85.
79.
Mehta NM, Corkins MR, Lyman B, Malone A, Goday PS, Carney L, Monczka JL, Plogsted SW, Schwenk WF. Defining pediatric malnutrition: a paradigm shift toward etiology-related definitions. J Parent Enter Nutr. 2013;37:460–81.
80.
Gomez F, Galvan RR, Cravioto J, Frenk S. Malnutrition in infancy and childhood with special reference to kwashiorkor. Adv Pediatr. 1955;7:131–69.PubMed
81.
Waterlow JC. Classification and definition of protein-caloric malnutrition. Br Med J. 1972;2:566–9.CrossRef
82.
Madea B. Death as the result of starvation. Diagnostic criteria. In: Tsokos M, editor. Forensic pathology reviews, vol. 2. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press; 2005. p. 3–26.CrossRef
83.
Fleagle JG, Samonds KW, Hegsted DM. Physical growth of cebus monkeys, Cebus albifrons, during protein or caloric deficiency. Am J Clin Nutr. 1975;28:246–53.PubMed
84.
Piercecchi-Marti MD, Louis-Borrione C, Bartoli C, Sanvoisin A, Panuel M, Pelissier-Alicot L, Leonetti G. Malnutrition, a rare form of child abuse: diagnostic criteria. J Forensic Sci. 2006;51:670–3.PubMedCrossRef
85.
Sawyer AJ, Bachrach LK. Rationale for bone densitometry in childhood and adolescence. In: Sawyer AJ, Bachrach LK, Fung EB, editors. Bone densitometry in growing patients. Guidelines for clinical practice. Totowa: Humana Press; 2007. p. 1–13.CrossRef
86.
Binkowitz LA, Henwood MJ. Pediatric DXA: technique and interpretation. Pediatr Radiol. 2007;37:21–31.CrossRef
87.
Crabtree NJ, Leonard MB, Zemel BS. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. In: Sawyer AJ, Bachrach LK, Fung EB, editors. Bone densitometry in growing patients. Guidelines for clinical practice. Totowa: Humana Press; 2007. p. 41–57.CrossRef
88.
Ward KA, Mughal Z, Adams JE. Tools for measuring bone in children and adolescents. In: Sawyer AJ, Bachrach LK, Fung EB, editors. Bone densitometry in growing patients. Guidelines for clinical practice. Totowa: Humana Press; 2007. p. 15–40.CrossRef
89.
Yeste D, del Rio M, Carrascosa G. Densidad mineral ósea en lactantes y niños (0–4 años) a nivel de columna lumbar. Patrones de normalidad. Anales Españoles de. Pediatria. 1998;49:248–52.
90.
del Rio L, Carrascosa F, Pons M, Yeste G, Domenech FM. Bone mineral density of the lumbar spine in white mediterranean Spanish children and adolescents: changes related to age, sex and puberty. Pediatr Res. 1994;35:362–6.PubMedCrossRef
91.
Alp H, Orbak Z, Kermen T, Uslu H. Bone mineral density in malnourished children without rachitic manifestations. Pediatr Int. 2006;48:128–31.PubMedCrossRef
92.
Schmitt BD. The child with nonaccidental trauma. In: Kempe CH, Heller RE, editors. The battered child. 4th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 1980. p. 128–46.
Metadata
Title
A brief history of fatal child maltreatment and neglect
Authors
Ann H. Ross
Chelsey A. Juarez
Publication date
01-09-2014
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology / Issue 3/2014
Print ISSN: 1547-769X
Electronic ISSN: 1556-2891
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-014-9531-1

Other articles of this Issue 3/2014

Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology 3/2014 Go to the issue

Case Report

Homicide or suicide? Xylophagia: a possible explanation for extraordinary autopsy findings

Case Report

A case of suicide by ingestion of caffeine

Original Article

DNA and RNA analysis of blood and muscle from bodies with variable postmortem intervals

Original Article

Species identification of protected carpet pythons suitable for degraded forensic samples

Images in Forensics

The pathological features of Wernicke encephalopathy

Original Article

Can early myocardial infarction-related deaths be diagnosed using postmortem urotensin receptor expression levels?