Book contents
- Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- About This Book
- Abbreviations
- Section 1 Prologue
- Section 2 Medicine
- Chapter 3 The Neuropathology of Shaken Baby Syndrome or Retino-Dural Haemorrhage of Infancy
- Chapter 4 The Importance of the Correlation between Radiology and Pathology in Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Chapter 5 Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Chapter 6 Shaken Baby Syndrome or Benign External Hydrocephalus
- Chapter 7 Are Some Cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Incorrectly Diagnosed as Shaken Baby Syndrome?
- Chapter 8 Abusive Head Trauma
- Chapter 9 How I Became a Shaken Baby Syndrome Sceptic Paediatrician
- Section 3 Science
- Section 4 Law
- Section 5 International
- Section 6 Postface
- Appendix: Frequently Repeated Claims concerning Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
- References
Chapter 5 - Shaken Baby Syndrome
Abusive Head Trauma or Just a Type of Hydrocephalus?
from Section 2 - Medicine
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 June 2023
- Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- About This Book
- Abbreviations
- Section 1 Prologue
- Section 2 Medicine
- Chapter 3 The Neuropathology of Shaken Baby Syndrome or Retino-Dural Haemorrhage of Infancy
- Chapter 4 The Importance of the Correlation between Radiology and Pathology in Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Chapter 5 Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Chapter 6 Shaken Baby Syndrome or Benign External Hydrocephalus
- Chapter 7 Are Some Cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Incorrectly Diagnosed as Shaken Baby Syndrome?
- Chapter 8 Abusive Head Trauma
- Chapter 9 How I Became a Shaken Baby Syndrome Sceptic Paediatrician
- Section 3 Science
- Section 4 Law
- Section 5 International
- Section 6 Postface
- Appendix: Frequently Repeated Claims concerning Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
- References
Summary
This chapter reviews epidemiological, clinical, and pathological aspects of benign external hydrocephalus, a medical condition that is a risk factor for development of subdural haematoma, and that frequently is mistaken for abusive head trauma (AHT). For infants, there are striking epidemiological similarities regarding gender and age between external hydrocephalus, subdural haematoma (SDH), and AHT/SBS. There is a marked male preponderance, in most infants the symptom debut occurs during the first 6 months, and prematurity appears to be more frequent. External hydrocephalus is known to predispose for development of SDH. Most infants with external hydrocephalus are born with a close-to-normal head circumference (HC) that starts to grow abnormally fast during the first postnatal months; most of these infants reach HC values compatible with hydrocephalus at the age of 2 to 3 months, the peak age at which AHT/SBS most often is diagnosed. Both in infantile SDH and AHT/SBS, the subdural fluid collections appear to be chronic, not acute as one would expect after a traumatic event. There are reasons to assume that external hydrocephalus often has been and will be misdiagnosed as AHT/SBS.
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- Shaken Baby SyndromeInvestigating the Abusive Head Trauma Controversy, pp. 85 - 104Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023