How Can We Say This Is Shaken Baby Syndrome?

Shaken Baby Syndrome Controversy

Abstract:

The shaken baby “triad“

In the past, Shaken Baby Syndrome was defined by a “triad” of symptoms: a type of bleeding in the brain called a subdural hematoma; retinal hemorrhage (bleeding in part of the eyes); and the absence of any recent accident that could account for a severe head injury.

But while no one believes that shaking is safe, there is still debate over whether shaking alone can kill, or whether the baby’s head must hit a hard object as well. As a result, experts now call the problem “abusive head trauma,” avoiding any debate on the mechanical cause.

Marta Cohen, M.D., a British pathologist, is co-author of a study recently published in Pediatric and Developmental Pathology. She and her colleague examined 25 fetuses and 30 newborns who died as a result of birth injury or disease without ever having left the hospital. “It was not possible for them to have been shaken,” she states.

The babies and fetuses examined by Cohen each had subdural hematomas that occurred in the absence of abuse. And although this study did not examine their eyes for retinal hemorrhage, other research has found that this, too, can occur when the brain is deprived of oxygen for other reasons.

Cohen explains that when pressure in the head is increased by brain swelling and lack of oxygen—which can have many causes—retinal bleeding is common. “My expectation is that all of these babies would have had retinal hemorrhages, not only because of [low oxygen] but also because of brain swelling.”

“We don’t know everything in medicine,” she says, emphasizing that without additional evidence of abuse, these indicators should not be used to convict people of killing children. “If we don’t know the cause of sudden infant death syndrome [SIDS], how can we say for sure that this is Shaken Baby Syndrome? To me, it’s not enough evidence.”

Source:

http://health.msn.com/kids-health/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100235034