Abusive Head Trauma

AHT is the third leading cause of head injuries in children under 5 years of age and the leading cause of head injuries in infants. Risk factors for AHT include poverty, maternal factors, low birth weight and having a male caregiver. Other risk factors are continually being studied. 

There is no legitimate debate in the medical community as to the existence or validity of the AHT diagnosis. Claims that shaking is not dangerous to infants or children are not factual and are not supported by AAP policy, despite being proffered by a few expert witnesses in the courtroom and media articles. Alternative hypotheses have been offered by a few physicians and others, but the evidence for these hypotheses is lacking. 

It’s not just the AAP that acknowledges the dangers of AHT, but the medical community at large as well. In 2018, the AAP,  Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR), European Society of Paediatric Radiology (ESPR), American Society of Pediatric Neuroradiology (ASPNR), European Society of Neuroradiology (ESNR), American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), Swedish Paediatric Society, Norwegian Pediatric Association and Japanese Pediatric Society published the Consensus Statement on Abusive Head Trauma in Infants and Young Children.

Additionally, the following medical organizations have endorsed AHT as a valid medical diagnosis:

• The World Health Organization (WHO)
• The American Association of Neurological Surgeons
• Canadian Joint Statement on Traumatic Head Injury due to Child Maltreatment (THI-CM)
• The American Academy of Ophthalmology
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• The Royal College of Ophthalmologists and The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
• French Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus