ArticleEmergency medicine Australasia : EMA2025
How useful was a paediatric physical abuse screening project in a rural Australian emergency department?
Article in Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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4 authors.
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Abstract
objectiveChildren with non-accidental injuries have increased risk of future death. There is insufficient evidence for widespread physical abuse screening tool use in the ED. This study assesses the utility of a physical abuse project that includes the implementation of a screening tool with case-matching from multiple sources. It aims to confirm whether risk-screening in a medium-sized rural Australian ED is reliable and will improve outcomes.
methodsThis is a 16-month ED retrospective pre-/post-implementation study of all injury, burn or poisoning cases 16 years and under during a paediatric physical abuse safety project which included a screening tool. Presentations with potential physical abuse were filtered by ICD-10 codes and reviewed. Multivariable logistic regression models compared pre- and post-implementation cases. Analyses examined outcomes, trends and interrogated the screening tool which formed a Clinical Pathway Algorithm (CPA).
resultsA total of 1469 presentations underwent investigation: 747 pre-implementation and 722 post-implementation. Pearson's χ
conclusionImplementing this ED paediatric physical abuse project improved safety behaviours and best-practice documentation. The tool improved medical decision making without increased re-presentations. ED clinicians may use similar CPAs to help review safety concerns and facilitate discharge; however, resources are needed to investigate referrals flagged due to false-positive rates.
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