Association of Economic Recession and Social Distancing With Pediatric Non-accidental Trauma During COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: There has been concern that the incidence of non-accidental trauma (NAT) cases in children would rise during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the combination of social isolation and economic depression. Our goal was to evaluate NAT incidence and severity during the pandemic across multiple US cities. METHODS: Multi-institutional, retrospective cohort study comparing NAT rates in children <18 y old during the COVID-19 pandemic (March-August 2020) with a recent historical data (January 2015-February 2020) and during a previous economic recession (January 2007-December 2011) at level 1 Pediatric Trauma Centers. Comparisons were made in local and national macroeconomic indicators. RESULTS: Overall rates of NAT during March-August 2020 did not increase compared to historical data (P = 0.8). Severity of injuries did not increase during the pandemic as measured by Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) (P = 0.97) or mortality (P = 0.7), but Injury Severity Score (ISS) slightly decreased (P = 0.018). Racial differences between time periods were seen, with increased proportions of NAT occurring in African-Americans during the pandemic (P < 0.001). NAT rates over time had low correlation (r = 0.32) with historical averages, suggesting a difference from previous years. Older children (≥3 y) had increased NAT rates during the pandemic. Overall NAT rates had low inverse correlation with unemployment (r = -0.37) and moderate inverse correlation with the stock market (r = -0.6). Significant variation between sites was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Overall NAT rates in children did not increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, but rates were highly variable by site and increases were seen in African-Americans and older children. Further studies are warranted to explore local influences on NAT rates.

What Happens When Child Abuse Pediatricians and CPS Investigators Collaborate? A Study of the Multidisciplinary Pediatric Education and Evaluation Consortium.

The Multidisciplinary Pediatric Education and Evaluation Consortium (MPEEC) is a medically directed program that mandates real-time interagency collaboration among child abuse pediatricians (CAPs), child protective services (CPS) investigators, and law enforcement. MPEEC provides consultation resulting in a definitive medical opinion regarding manner of injury when allegations of serious harm involving children less than three years old living in Chicago are reported to Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). This study is the first to link data from a medically directed, inter-agency program with CPS investigations data to specifically examine the duration of CPS investigations and the level of concordance between the manner of injury as determined by CAPs and the investigation's outcome when CPS investigators and medical professionals are required to formally collaborate. On average, MPEEC produced a written opinion 16 days from the time of referral and DCFS made a finding 45 days after receiving the MPEEC report for the 690 cases referred to MPEEC over a 3-year period. The concordance level ranged from 75-90%. Our results highlight the need for more analysis of linked data to promote efficiency and proficiency in CPS investigations.

Early Infantile Diagnosis of Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia Complicated by Child Abuse.

We report a rare case of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) in a 4-month-old female infant with findings of child abuse. She presented with poor feeding, vomiting, and irritability after a short fall from the bed. Initial evaluation found subdural hematomas, persistent hypoxia, failure to thrive, a frenulum tear, facial lacerations, and bruising. The patient was admitted, and an extensive workup led to the diagnosis of brain and pulmonary arteriovenous malformations and finally the diagnosis of HHT. The subdural hematomas, cutaneous injuries, and oral injury were highly suspicious for child abuse and were reported to Child Protective Services and law enforcement for investigation simultaneous to the medical work-up. Her hospital course was complicated by progressive hypoxemia with radiographic evidence of several large pulmonary arteriovenous malformations, for which she underwent successful embolization. Her head injury was indeterminate for physical abuse in the setting of a medical condition predisposing to intracranial hemorrhage. A few weeks later, she was readmitted with repeat abusive injuries in the form of femur fractures. This case demonstrates the unique diagnostic dilemma when 2 diagnoses are occurring simultaneously-HHT and child abuse-and showcases the importance of a detailed family history, genetic testing, strong multidisciplinary collaboration with a holistic approach and medically informed Child Protective Services systems to ensure accurate diagnoses and safe disposition.

Running water while bathing is a risk factor for pediatric scald burns.

INTRODUCTION: Scalds are the most common mechanism of burn injury in pediatric populations and scald burns sustained during bathing present a unique opportunity for injury prevention. Evidence-based infant bathing educational resources recommend checking water temperature and having a caregiver present for the duration of the bath, but do not explicitly recommend avoiding running water or explain the associated risks. This study seeks to determine the incidence and role of running water in bathing scald burns at our institution. METHODS: This is a retrospective review of pediatric patients (<3 years) admitted to the University of Chicago Burn Center with scald injury from bathing between 2010 and 2020. Cases were reviewed to assess the following risk factors: whether there was running water, whether water temperature was checked before placing the child in water, and whether a caregiver was present for the entire bath. Injuries in which the manner of injury was abuse or indeterminate were excluded. RESULTS: The study cohort included 101 cases of scalds due to bathing, with a mean age of 13 months and mean burn size of 7% TBSA. Of these 101 cases, 96 (95%) involved running water. Thirty-seven cases (37%) had only one of the three risk factors and 95% of those 37 cases involved running water. Twenty-nine cases (29%) involved all three risk factors while only two cases (2%) involved none of the three risk factors. Sixty-one cases (60%), thirty-nine cases (39%), and one case (1%) occurred in a sink, bathtub, or infant tub, respectively. CONCLUSION: We found that the vast majority of bathing scald burns involved running water, identifying a specific bathing recommendation that should be added to existing guidelines to reduce the incidence of bathing scald burns.

Validation of a Clinical Decision Rule to Predict Abuse in Young Children Based on Bruising Characteristics.

Importance: Bruising caused by physical abuse is the most common antecedent injury to be overlooked or misdiagnosed as nonabusive before an abuse-related fatality or near-fatality in a young child. Bruising occurs from both nonabuse and abuse, but differences identified by a clinical decision rule may allow improved and earlier recognition of the abused child. Objective: To refine and validate a previously derived bruising clinical decision rule (BCDR), the TEN-4 (bruising to torso, ear, or neck or any bruising on an infant <4.99 months of age), for identifying children at risk of having been physically abused. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from December 1, 2011, to March 31, 2016, at emergency departments of 5 urban children's hospitals. Children younger than 4 years with bruising were identified through deliberate examination. Statistical analysis was completed in June 2020. Exposures: Bruising characteristics in 34 discrete body regions, patterned bruising, cumulative bruise counts, and patient's age. The BCDR was refined and validated based on these variables using binary recursive partitioning analysis. Main Outcomes and Measures: Injury from abusive vs nonabusive trauma was determined by the consensus judgment of a multidisciplinary expert panel. Results: A total of 21 123 children were consecutively screened for bruising, and 2161 patients (mean [SD] age, 2.1 [1.1] years; 1296 [60%] male; 1785 [83%] White; 1484 [69%] non-Hispanic/Latino) were enrolled. The expert panel achieved consensus on 2123 patients (98%), classifying 410 (19%) as abuse and 1713 (79%) as nonabuse. A classification tree was fit to refine the rule and validated via bootstrap resampling. The resulting BCDR was 95.6% (95% CI, 93.0%-97.3%) sensitive and 87.1% (95% CI, 85.4%-88.6%) specific for distinguishing abuse from nonabusive trauma based on body region bruised (torso, ear, neck, frenulum, angle of jaw, cheeks [fleshy], eyelids, and subconjunctivae), bruising anywhere on an infant 4.99 months and younger, or patterned bruising (TEN-4-FACESp). Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, an affirmative finding for any of the 3 BCDR TEN-4-FACESp components in children younger than 4 years indicated a potential risk for abuse; these results warrant further evaluation. Clinical application of this tool has the potential to improve recognition of abuse in young children with bruising.

A 6-Year Case-Control Study of the Presentation and Clinical Sequelae for Noninflicted, Negligent, and Inflicted Pediatric Burns.

Inflicted burns are one of the leading causes of abuse-related fatalities in children. Between 30 and 60% of children accidentally returned to abusive homes suffer reabuse. Given the high chance for abuse recurrence and the associated morbidity/mortality, it is critical that inflicted burns are promptly identified to guide appropriate medical and child welfare management. Although previous studies proposed historical and mechanistic features using noncomparative or poorly powered data, this study utilized comparative data from a 6-year period (2009-2014) at a certified burn center along with expert analysis from Child Advocacy and Protective Services (CAPS) to provide higher level evidence supporting classical findings while elucidating new features with respect to burn severity and required interventions. A retrospective chart review of 408 pediatric burns was cross-referenced with the respective CAPS consultations to construct a multidisciplinary, deidentified database. The average age was 2.9 years (0.04-17 years) with 232 (57%) males and 330 (81%) African-Americans. CAPS investigations confirmed burn etiologies: noninflicted (346 [85%]), negligent (30 [7%]), and inflicted (32 [8%]). In comparing the three etiologies, statistical significance (P < .05) was observed for numerous variables including historical inconsistency, burn age, child welfare history, burn size and depth, distribution, concomitant injury rates, number of surgical interventions, infectious complications, and hospital length of stay. In addition to reaffirming classical features of abusive burns to fortify etiologic diagnoses, this study elucidated appreciable differences in burn severity, interventional sequelae, and burn-related complications, which will help guide medical and surgical interventions for future pediatric burn patients.