Committee 5

Shaken Baby Syndrome: Rotational Cranial Injuries—Technical Report

Citation:

Committee on Child Abuse & Neglect: Shaken baby syndrome: rotational cranial injuries—technical report. Pediatrics 108(1):206-210, July 2001.

Notes:

A caretaker who is not responsible for the injuries may not know what happened.
Caretakers likely to inflict abuse generally have unrealistic expectations of children and may expect their needs to be met by the child.
Shaken baby syndrome is unlikely to be an isolated event. Most often the child has been abused previously.
"In the most severe cases, which usually result in death or severe neurologic consequences, the child usually becomes immediately unconscious and suffers rapidly escalating, life-threatening central nervous system dysfunction." (p. 207)
MRI and CT can help determine when injuries occurred.
"A psychosocial assessment of the caretakers should be part of this comprehensive team approach. Siblings or other children in the same environment may have signs of inflicted trauma or repeated shaking." (p. 208)
Pediatricians should inquire about caretaker stress, discipline practices, substance abuse, and how the adults handle crying infants.