Medical Evaluation of Child Abuse and Neglect April 28, 2022

Medical evaluations for possible child abuse can yield important information about whether it is child abuse, whether it is not, mechanisms of injury, and possible timeframes.  Skin injuries, sentinel injuries, head and internal injuries will be discussed and explained. Sexual abuse evaluations typically depend on the history since most patients have no physical findings. With sexual abuse cases, prophylactic medication should be practiced.  For all cases of physical and sexual abuse, consider that neglect and psychological maltreatment may be the long-term outcomes. ​