ArticleChild abuse & neglect2023
Increased severity of abusive head trauma during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in Child abuse & neglect, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Characteristics and Popularity of Videos of Abusive Head Trauma Prevention: Systematic Appraisal.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Fosphenytoin and Levetiracetam to Prevent Posttraumatic Seizures in Young Children with Accidental or Abusive Traumatic Brain Injury.Neurocritical care · 2025Article
- Parenting During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Review
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic On Violence Against Children: A Narrative Review.Current psychiatry reports · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAbusive head trauma (AHT) is the leading cause of death from physical abuse in children. Reports regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rates and severity of AHT are limited and with conflicting results.
objectiveTo determine the number and clinical characteristics of AHT cases presenting to a pediatric tertiary care center during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the two prior years. PARTICIPANTS AND
settingWe performed a retrospective cohort study of patients <5 years old diagnosed with AHT at a single pediatric tertiary care center over a three-year period.
methodsData were obtained for the pandemic year and two years before, including demographics, length of stay, physical and retinal examination findings, radiologic studies, electroencephalogram results, and mortality.
resultsThere were 27 cases of AHT during the first year of the pandemic and 55 during the two pre-pandemic years. Length of stay was similar for the two cohorts. The mortality rate was higher during the pandemic (29.6 % vs. 3.6 %; p < .01), as were the proportion of patients with retinal hemorrhages (84.6 % vs. 41.5 %; p < .01) and abnormal cervical spine imaging (52.6 % vs. 21.2 %; p = .02). There were no differences in age, sex, race, abnormalities on dermatological exam, skeletal surveys, and electroencephalograms.
conclusionsWe did not observe an increase in the number of patients with AHT during the pandemic but did see an increase in mortality, patients with retinal hemorrhages, and patients with abnormalities on cervical spine imaging. These data suggest a higher severity of AHT presenting to a pediatric tertiary care center during the pandemic.
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