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Review
. 2021 May;51(6):876-882.
doi: 10.1007/s00247-020-04844-5. Epub 2021 May 17.

Abusive head trauma: Canadian and global perspectives

Asthik Biswas  1   2 , Manohar M Shroff  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Abusive head trauma: Canadian and global perspectives

Asthik Biswas et al. Pediatr Radiol. 2021 May.

Abstract

Canada has come a long way since Dr. C. Henry Kempe first described battered-child syndrome in 1962. The year 1999 was crucial in Canada's battle against shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma (SBS/AHT), when the first national conference on the topic was held in Saskatoon. This was followed by the issuance of a national statement and multidisciplinary guidelines, recently updated in 2020. Incidence of AHT in Canada is similar to that found in population-based studies from Switzerland and New Zealand. The mainstay of prevention of AHT in Canada is education of parents and caregivers with respect to their response to infant crying. Population-based data for global incidence of AHT are lacking, largely because of social and cultural differences contributing to poor understanding of AHT as a medico-legal entity. India faces a distinct challenge in the battle against female feticide and infanticide.

Keywords: Abusive head trauma; Canada; Child abuse; Children; Female feticide; Global; Incidence; Prevention; Radiology.

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References

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