Pseudobattering in Vietnamese Children

Abstract

Until recently the presence of linear bruising on children in America was synonymous with child abuse.1 With the large influx of Vietnamese children, physicians should be aware of the practice of coin-rubbing.2 While providing medical care for Vietnamese children at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, we commonly saw petechiae and frank purpura of the chest and back. These lesions were often linear and resembled trauma. Indeed, we received one report of alleged trauma from an outside physician who was not familiar with the condition. The lay practice of Cäo Gió is quite commonly used among the Vietnamese for several symptoms including fever, chills, and headaches.