PubMed · 10230274
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E Pascal. 1999. SAVE initiates SBS prevention program.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10230274/
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OBJECTIVE: To study ocular and nonocular signs of patients diagnosed as having "shaken baby syndrome" and determine prognostic indicators for vision and mortality. METHODS: Medical records of child abuse cases involving bilateral retinal hemorrhages were reviewed. Particular attention was paid to visual function and pupillary light reaction at the time of admission as well as the location of retinal hemorrhages, neuroimaging findings, ventilatory requirement, and associated skeletal injuries. These findings were correlated with visual prognosis and mortality. RESULTS: Thirty consecutive cases met the criteria for review. At the initial visit, mean age of the children was 9.3 months (range, 1-39 months) and 12 children (40%) had at least fix-and-follow vision. Preretinal and intraretinal hemorrhages (93% [n = 28] and 100% [n = 30]) were more common than vitreous hemorrhage (10% [n = 3]). Subdural hematomas were detected in 21 patients (70%). Twenty children (67%) had seizures and 16 (53%) required ventilatory support; bruises and long bone fractures were seen in 14 (47%) and 4 (13%) children, respectively. Eight patients died. All patients with nonreactive pupils on presentation died, while all patients with a pupillary light reaction lived (P<.001). Six (86%) of 7 patients with midline shift died, whereas 21 (91%) of 23 with no midline shift lived (P<.001). At follow-up, retinal hemorrhages had resolved in nearly all children by 4 months, and 16 children (73%) had at least fix-and-follow vision. Ventilatory requirement was associated with poorer vision (P<.01). CONCLUSIONS: Nonreactive pupils and midline shift of the brain structures correlate highly with mortality. Ventilatory requirement, but not visual acuity on presentation, predicts visual outcome.
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PURPOSE: To examine the comprehensive ophthalmologic experience with the shaken baby syndrome at one medical center, including clinical findings, autopsy findings, and the outcome of survivors. DESIGN: Retrospective, noncomparative case series. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred twenty-three children admitted from January 1987 through December 1998 for subdural hematomas of the brain secondary to abuse were included. METHODS: Clinical features of eye examinations of the patients during their admission and after discharge and histopathologic observations for patients who died were retrieved from medical records and statistically analyzed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Visual response and pupillary response on initial examination, fundus findings, final vision, neurologic outcome of survivors, and death. RESULTS: Ninety percent of the patients had ophthalmologic assessments. Retinal hemorrhages were detected in 83% of the examined children. The retinal hemorrhages were bilateral in 85% of affected children and varied in type and location. Nonophthalmologists missed the hemorrhages in 29% of affected patients. Poor visual response, poor pupillary response, and retinal hemorrhage correlated strongly with the demise of the child. One child who died had pigmented retinal scars from previous abuse, a condition not previously observed histopathologically to our knowledge. One fifth of the survivors had poor vision, largely the result of cerebral visual impairment. Severe neurologic impairment correlated highly with loss of vision. CONCLUSIONS: Shaken baby syndrome causes devastating injury to the brain and thus to vision. Retinal hemorrhages are extremely common, but vision loss is most often the result of brain injury. The patient's visual reaction and pupillary response on presentation showed a high correlation with survival. Good initial visual reaction was highly correlated with good final vision and neurologic outcome. According to the literature, when retinal hemorrhages are found in young children, the likelihood that abuse occurred is very high. Nonophthalmologists' difficulty in detecting retinal hemorrhages may be an important limiting factor in identifying shaken babies so they can be protected from further abuse.