Clinical features
The features of physical abuse may be nebulous, and sadly the health care professional must maintain a high index of suspicion in all children where an injury has occured.
Features include:
- bruising
- fractures
- burns or scalds
- bites
- the child may be afraid of a certain person, or of everyone
An important feature of physical child abuse is the history. Features include:
- inconsistent history - from one telling to the next, or from one carer to the next
- a delay between the injury and presentation
- an injury out of proportion to the alleged accident - for example a fall from a sofa to a carpeted floor being used to explain a skull fracture in a young child.
Related pages
- Bruising in physical abuse
- Burns, bite marks and severe injuries
- Fractures in physical abuse
- Burns in physical abuse
- Lacerations (cuts), abrasions and scars when child maltreatment should be suspected
- Intracranial injuries where child maltreatment should be suspected
- Spinal injuries in a child where maltreatment should be suspected
- Visceral injuries in a child where maltreatment should be suspected
- Oral injury when child maltreatment should be considered
- Female genital mutulation (FGM)
- Features of non-accidental injury (injury that should raise concerns) in a child in comparison to features suggestive of an accidental injury in a child
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