Five-Year Review of Patients Presenting with Non-Accidental Injury to a Children's Emergency Unit in Singapore.
- Author:
Yi Rong CHEW
1
;
Michaela Hl CHENG
;
Mei Ching GOH
;
Liang SHEN
;
Peter Cy WONG
;
Sashikumar GANAPATHY
Author Information
1. Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- MeSH:
Age Factors;
Child;
Child Abuse;
prevention & control;
statistics & numerical data;
Child, Preschool;
Cohort Studies;
Emergency Service, Hospital;
statistics & numerical data;
Ethnic Groups;
statistics & numerical data;
Female;
Hospitalization;
statistics & numerical data;
Humans;
Injury Severity Score;
Male;
Mandatory Reporting;
Needs Assessment;
Physical Abuse;
prevention & control;
statistics & numerical data;
Prevalence;
Retrospective Studies;
Risk Assessment;
Sex Factors;
Singapore;
Vulnerable Populations;
statistics & numerical data;
Wounds and Injuries;
diagnosis;
epidemiology
- From:Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore
2018;47(10):413-419
- CountrySingapore
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
INTRODUCTION:There is an increasing trend of physical child abuse cases reported in Singapore. Children presenting to the Emergency Department with injuries require a high index of suspicion for clinicians to distinguish those that are abusive in nature.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:A retrospective study of children with diagnosis of NAI presenting to KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) from June 2011 to May 2016 was conducted.
RESULTS:There were 1917 cases reported from 1730 subjects, of which: 8.8% of subjects had repeat visits; 55.2% of cases were male; and mean age was 7.69 years. Racial demographics were: Chinese 45.5%, Malay 33.4%, Indian 15.4% and Others 5.9%. The most frequent injuries sustained were head and neck (50.8%), limbs (32.2%), and chest (5.7%). Of the type of injuries, 55% had contusions, 21% had cane marks, 16% had lacerations, 4.4% had burn marks and 1% sustained fractures. Males were more likely to be caned ( <0.001); 54.9% of cases were admitted and 38.9% were discharged. Cases that presented without a parent ( <0.001), were known to Child Protective Service ( <0.001), or had a history of parental substance abuse ( = 0.038), mental illness in caregiver ( = 0.021), or domestic violence ( <0.001) were more likely to require admission.
CONCLUSION:Analysing these factors provide a better understanding of the presentation of NAI cases, including 'red flags' and vulnerable groups who should have better protection.
