Abusive head trauma in infants and why we CAN afford to prevent it

TL;DRAbstract

Abusive head trauma (AHT) is a well-recognized and severe form of child abuse. Commonly referred to as ‘shaken baby syndrome’ (SBS), in recent years it has come to be named using less mechanism-specific terminology such as AHT. Between 2005 and 2008, 220 cases of AHT were reported in Canada (1). However, this likely underestimates the true scope of the problem because many abused infants brought for medical care are incorrectly diagnosed (2,3). In an effort to prevent AHT, the identification of infants ‘most at risk’ has been attempted, and evidence-based prevention programs such as the Period of PURPLE Crying are being implemented. The purpose of the current commentary is to present economic data that support the implementation of such a program for all new caregivers. Typically, an infant with AHT is brought to medical attention because of nonspecific symptoms such as irritability, vomiting or fever after a diagnostic workup reveals physical and imaging findings that have resulted

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