TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1989//
TI  - Anal and perianal abnormalities in prepubertal victims of sexual abuse
JO  - American journal of obstetrics and gynecology
A1  - Muram, D.
SP  - 278
EP  - 281
VL  - 161
IS  - 2
N2  - We describe anal and perianal findings in 310 prepubertal children who were determined to be victims of sexual abuse; 206 (66%) had perinea that appeared normal. Abnormal findings were present in 104 children (34%): anal gapping in 61 children; skin tags in 44; rectal tears in 33; sphincter tears in 15; human papillomavirus lesions in 4; perineal scarring in 2; and bite marks in 1. Normal-appearing perianal and anal regions were noted in 150 of 175 children (85%) who denied anal assault, and in 11 of 70 (16%) who described such assault. In comparison, anal and perianal abnormalities were observed in 59 of the 70 children (84%) who gave a clear history of anal assault, but in only 25 of 175 (15%) who denied such abuse. Failure to document perianal abnormalities in almost two thirds of the patients demonstrates the limitations of the medical evaluation in validating allegations of sexual abuse.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0002-9378
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -