Citation

Otterman G, Palusci VJ. Child Abuse Rev. 2020; 29(3): 171-181.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/car.2640

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Abusive head trauma (AHT), with its subset diagnosis shaken baby syndrome, has attracted professional interest for centuries (Caffey, 1972, 1974; Guthkelch, 1971; Helfer and Kempe, 1968; Tardieu, 1860). In the 21st century, with contributions from a transdisciplinary international corps of scholars and clinicians, the body of science has developed further as multiple lines of accumulated evidence have expanded our understanding of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, outcomes and prevention (Choudhary et al., 2018; Kemp et al., 2011; Lazoritz and Palusci, 2001; Maguire et al., 2013; Narang et al., 2016, 2020; Rauth‐Farley et al., 2006). Undertaking research on AHT presents a distinct set of challenges as its diagnosis and management call for a complex multidisciplinary process that requires interagency collaboration. Cross‐national comparisons are thereby difficult, as societies vary in organisational models of paediatric care (Otterman et al., 2017). Additionally, a cadre of medical professionals has challenged the diagnosis in courts of law in many countries in an effort to sow doubt and deny the validity of the diagnosis (Chadwick and Krous, 1997; Leventhal and Edwards, 2017)...

Language: en