New research by the American Academy of Pediatrics highlighted the importance of recognizing child abuse at its earliest stages.

Maltreatment and abuse can lead to toxic stress in children, leading to health problems down the road. These struggles can range from permanent physical disability to mental health issues. This new report could help teach pediatricians to identify the clues of abuse to prevent as much long-term damage as possible.

Child abuse can be extremely difficult to identify, especially in younger children and babies. Small injuries in these children are often mistakenly chalked up to accidental or self-inflicted trauma as well as disease; many of these victims soon return with additional injuries.

The clinical report identifies signs of abuse as: a vague explanation for an injury; a denial of a clear injury; an explanation inconsistent with the observed injury pattern; a delay in seeking medical care after the injury was sustained; inconsistent reports of the cause of injury from different witnesses. Physicians are also urged to consider the possibility of abuse if they observe: injuries to multiple organ systems; a number of injuries in different stages of healing; patterned injuries; injuries to unusual locations  such as the face or upper arms; severe unexplained injuries; or any signs of injury in pre-ambulatory infants.

The report also asks physicians to watch out for head trauma in infants as well as skeletal injuries, and brain inflammation. These warning signs can be identified through techniques such as skeletal surveys and brain imaging. The researchers also noted pediatricians are mandated to report suspected abuse to Child Protective Services (CPS), and transferring a child to another health facility does not relieve them of these duties. Children with suspicious injuries may need to be hospitalized for evaluation and treatment.

The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Pediatrics. See the full report HERE.