Battered Child Syndrome at the Los Angeles County General Hospital

Abstract

MORE THAN 20 years ago, Caffey 1 reported that subdural hematomas frequently occurred in conjunction with multiple fractures of the long bones. More than ten years ago, Woolley and Evans 2 suggested that such injuries to children were often not accidental but were inflicted by another individual In 1962, Kempe et al 3 described the syndrome more completely and stated, A physician needs to have a high initial level of suspicion of the diagnosis of the battered-child syndrome in instances of subdural hematoma, multiple unexplained fractures at different stages of healing, failure to thrive, when soft tissue swellings or skin bruising are present, or in any other situation where the degree and type of injury is at variance with the history given regarding its occurrence or in any child who dies suddenly. The concern of pediatric resident physicians for the many battered children who were brought to the Los Angeles