For the study, researchers examined data for 7,825 children from the UK’s national trauma registry between April 2012 to June 2015. Of the pediatric trauma injuries studied, 94 percent of the cases were labeled as an accidental injury and 6 percent were identified as suspected child abuse.
Here are five study findings.
- Half of the children suspected of being abused were under four months old, while half of those with accidental injuries were seven years or older.
- Children with accidental injuries had a 2.2 percent death rate, compared to 5.7 percent for children believed to have experienced abuse.
- While 44 percent of children with accidental injuries traveled to the hospital via ambulance, only 25.6 percent of children with suspected abuse injuries used these emergency services.
- Kids suspected to be abuse victims arrived at a hospital less than eight hours after an injury, while children with accidental injuries arrived in less than 1.5 hours.
- Half of children with suspected abuse injuries were transferred to a trauma unit within 21.6 hours of the injury, compared to just 13.8 hours for kids with accidental injuries.
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