Physicians urged to check siblings of suspected child abuse victims - Children living in the same home or in contact with the same caretaker are also at risk

By: Tom Cloyd - 1 min. read; reviewed: 2025-02-06:0726 Pacific Time (USA))

Suspected victims of child abuse are red flags for a wider problem. Their siblings are also possible victims, yet too many go unscreened for abuse. Pediatricians recommend a change in routine physician handling of such cases.

An international group of pediatricians has issued a clear call for better routine screenings for child abuse victims in families where a suspected abuse victim resides. Even is suspected victim siblings appear uninjured, the should be screened, “…because injuries such as hemorrhages and torn ligaments may be only visible with imaging.”¹

“Physical abuse is a common but preventable cause of long-term childhood morbidity and mortality. Despite the strong association between abuse in an index child and abuse in contact children, there is no guidance outlining how to screen the latter, significantly more vulnerable group, for abusive injuries. Consequently, the radiological assessment of contact children is often omitted, or variably performed, allowing occult injuries to go undetected and increasing the risk of further abuse.

“This Special Communication reports consensus recommendations for the radiological screening of contact children in the context of suspected child physical abuse, establishing a recognized baseline for the stringent evaluation of these at-risk children and providing clinicians with a more resilient platform from which to advocate for them.”²

References ^{^}

Blakemore, E. (2023, June 10). Experts recommend exams of siblings of suspected child abuse victims. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/06/10/child-abuse-exam-guidelines/

Mankad, K., Sidpra, J., Mirsky, D. M., Oates, A. J., Colleran, G. C., Lucato, L. T., Kan, E., Kilborn, T., Agrawal, N., Teeuw, A. H., Kelly, P., Zeitlin, D., Carter, J., Debelle, G. D., Berger, R. P., Christian, C. W., Lindberg, D. M., Raissaki, M., Argyropoulou, M., … Offiah, A. C. (2023). International Consensus Statement on the Radiological Screening of Contact Children in the Context of Suspected Child Physical Abuse. JAMA Pediatrics, 177(5), 526–533. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.6184

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