Abstract
Child abuse is a major social problem. The number of child abuse consultations at child guidance centers is increasing markedly. We examined five infants with burns, who were suspected to have been abused, at their initial presentation to our hospital. The burn area was 3-23.5% of the total body surface area. The burns were caused by hot liquids. The explanations provided by their parents for the burns were characteristically not credible. In clinical practice, not all cases are suggestive of apparent child abuse, and many cases fall into a grey zone where it is difficult to recognize the abuse with certainty. Moreover, no specific clinical indices exist and abuse recognition is affected by evaluators’ perceptions. Furthermore, reporting of abuse may interfere with the parent-physician relationship; thus, physicians often hesitate to report child abuse. Cases of infants with burns require not only evaluation of the wounds but also other observations such as evaluating the credibility of the families’ explanations, inconsistency with local findings, and responses of the families. Physicians should intensify efforts to form an abuse response team that can promptly report cases of suspected abuse, sufficiently treat local wounds, and properly manage cases where child abuse is suspected.
