Sentinel Injuries

In this episode, Juliet Soper discusses sentinel injuries. including what to lookout for and when to report.

Topics

Introduction
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Case study
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Defining a sentinel injury
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Are there specific features we should be looking for?
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What are the most common injuries?
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how common are these?
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Why do we need to worry about them?
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If we are concerned about a sentinel injury what is our approach?
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Making a report of concern to Oranga Tamariki
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Take-home messages
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Take home messages

Sentinel injuries are easily visible, medically minor injuries that are unexplained, or inadequately explained in a pre-cruising baby.
Sentinel injuries provide an opportunity to intervene, before a potentially escalating pattern of child maltreatment causes life-altering or life-threatening injuries.
Sentinel injuries are most often bruises or intraoral injuries.
After recognising a sentinel injury, you need to consider the possibility that someone is hurting this child, and ask for help by making a report of concern to Oranga Tamariki.
You can always phone-a-friend – The Te Puaruruhau duty phone (021 492 365) is answered during regular work hours or the on-call Te Puaruruhau Paediatrician is available via your local hospital switchboard after hours.

Resources

A Practical Guide to Differentiating Abusive From Accidental Fractures: An Injury Plausibility Approach Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine Journal (2012)
Sentinel Injuries in Infants Evaluated for Child Physical Abuse American Academy of Pediatrics (2013)

Patient Resources

Presenter

Juliet Soper

Consultant Paediatrician

Juliet undertook her medical studies at the University of Auckland before completing her paediatric training via the Northern Clinical Training Network. For the last 10 years she has been in Saskatchewan, Canada where among other roles she been the lead paediatrician for child protection and involved in regional and national service development, inter-agency collaboration and training in the area of child protection. She is currently working as a member of the Te Puaruruhau multidisciplinary team as a consultant paediatrician and Service Clinical Director.