Citation

Nguefack F, Awa DM, Dongmo R, Mballa JC, Nguefack S. Med Sante Trop 2016; 26(2): 216-220.

Vernacular Title

L'enfant victime de sévices : une affection sous-estimée ? À propos d'un cas au Cameroun.

Affiliation

Faculté de médecine et des sciences biomédicales, Université de Yaoundé I, BP: 1364, Yaoundé, Cameroun, Hôpital gynéco-obstétrique et pédiatrique de Yaoundé, Cameroun.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, John Libbey Eurotext)

DOI

10.1684/mst.2016.0556

PMID

27412983

Abstract

Physical abuse of children can be of varying nature. Children can be shaken, beaten, burnt, or cut by their parents or guardians. The incidence of trauma inflicted on children is underestimated in many countries, probably because clinical signs are misjudged, as this case report shows. This three-year-old boy was seen in several health facilities of Yaounde, Cameroon. He was treated erroneously for severe malaria and then for meningitis because he presented with neurologic signs, before the diagnosis of child abuse was made. This was confirmed after an imaging work-up revealed fractures of the skull and the leg. The diagnosis was therefore delayed by at least six weeks from the date of the first consultation. This case report demonstrates that child abuse is not well known in our environment, and it is therefore crucial to train those who provide health care to children to recognize it.

Language: en