Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38263550›Full record

ArticleSingapore medical journal2026

Profile of hospitalised maltreated children aged 0 to 3 years and their families.

Rui Kwan, Sharon Abraham, Wilson Cong Jin Low, Jasmine Chiew Yi Lim, Wan Har Chong, Sylvia Bee Suan Mun, Jean Yin Oh, Oh Moh Chay, Sita Padmini Yeleswarapu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Singapore medical journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Rui KwanDepartment of Paediatrics, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.
Sharon AbrahamDepartment of Child Development, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.
Wilson Cong Jin LowPaediatric Academic Clinical Programme, Singapore Health Services, Singapore.
Jasmine Chiew Yi LimMedical Social Work, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.
Wan Har ChongPsychology and Child and Human Development Academic Group, National Institute of Education, Singapore.
Sylvia Bee Suan MunAllied Health Office, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.
Jean Yin OhDepartment of Paediatrics, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.
Oh Moh ChayRespiratory Medicine Service, Department of Paediatric Medicine, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.
Sita Padmini YeleswarapuDepartment of Child Development, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionMaltreatment adversely affects children's health and development. Knowledge of child maltreatment in early childhood is limited. We studied the demographic factors and health issues in children aged 0-3 years who were hospitalised for maltreatment.

methodsIn this retrospective cohort study, health and demographic information was extracted from the electronic medical records of children hospitalised in KK Women's and Children's Hospital between January 2018 and June 2019. High-risk groups were children with developmental delay (DD), missed vaccination (MV), low outpatient attendance, high dependency unit (HDU) or intensive care unit (ICU) admission and Child Protection Service (CPS) referral. Chi-square or Fisher's exact test was used for categorical variables. Mann-Whitney U test was used for skewed quantitative variables.

resultsAmong the 101 children included in the study, the most common type of abuse and alleged perpetrator were physical abuse and parents, respectively. In addition, 35.6% of the children had pre-existing health conditions before hospitalisation, 58.4% had new health conditions diagnosed during hospitalisation requiring follow-up and 26.7% had maltreatment-related injuries. One-fifth of the children had DDs and another one-fifth had MVs. About 20% of them had defaulted all outpatient appointments. High-risk children mostly lived in rented housing. Their mothers mostly had primary education or lower. Most children admitted to ICU or HDU were <6 months old (8/12 [66.7%] vs. 6-24 months 3/12 [25%] vs. 24-47 months 1/12 [8.3%], P = 0.001). A higher number of children with DD were referred to CPS (63.2%, P = 0.049) than to other agencies.

conclusionMaltreated children have significant health needs that are not fully met through routine surveillance practices. They are at risk of defaulting their hospital appointment. It is imperative that families at risk of child maltreatment are identified early and their needs holistically evaluated, with care coordinated within the hospital-community support system.

Indexed as

Child AbuseHospitalizationChild, PreschoolDevelopmental DisabilitiesFemaleHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMaleRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsSingaporeAdverse childhood experienceschild maltreatmentearly childhood

Identifiers

PMID38263550
PMCPMC13327687

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.