Child Abuse Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Child Abuse, including details on family violence, examinations, long-term effects, psychiatrics disorders.

Cerebral traumatism with a playground rocking toy mimicking shaken baby syndrome.

Sauvageau A, Bourgault A, Racette S

Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale, Edifice Wilfrid-Derome, 1701, Parthenais Street, 12th floor, Montreal, QC, Canada H2K 3S7.

Shaken baby syndrome (SBS), one of the most deadly and devastating forms of child abuse, is caused by violent shaking. The combination of subdural hematoma, retinal hemorrhage, brain swelling, and diffuse axonal injury is highly typical of this syndrome and faced with these autopsy findings, induced traumatic lesions are strongly considered. However, it is known that motor-vehicle accidents and falls from great height can also produce this pattern of injury. Nevertheless, stories of arms fall, couch fall, or bumped head while the baby is being carried are generally considered incompatible with SBS. We here report a case of a 2-year-old boy presenting with all the classic autopsy findings of SBS from a playground rocking toy shaken by an older child.

Published 27 March 2008 in J Forensic Sci, 53(2): 479-82.
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