Update on injury mechanisms in abusive head trauma--shaken baby syndrome

Abstract

Violently shaking a baby leads to clinical presentations ranging from seizures to cardiopulmonary arrest. The main injuries sustained are retinal hemorrhages, subdural hemorrhages, and sometimes fractures and spine injury. It is important to have a global view of the injuries sustained by the infant to correctly discuss the biomechanical aspects of abusive head trauma. Recent works based on finite element models have shown that whiplash-shaking alone is enough to generate vitreo-retinal traction leading to retinal hemorrhage and to cause the rupture of bridging veins leading to subdural hemorrhage. We will review the main papers dealing with the mechanisms of shaken baby syndrome and present the most relevant hypothesis concerning the biomechanical aspects of injuries related to shaken baby syndrome.