Findings of metabolic bone disease in infants with unexplained fractures in contested child abuse investigations: a case series of 75 infants.
J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2019 Oct 25;32(10):1103-1120. doi: 10.1515/jpem-2019-0093.
- The Vitamin Deficiency Signs That Can Send You to Prison – Feb 2014
- Shaken Baby Syndrome - probably caused by Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
- Lack of vitamin D in infants can result in broken bones and shaken baby syndrome - March 2010
- Child abuse, vitamin D deficiency, or what - for parents and defense attorneys - Cannell June 2015
- Mother and father on trial for infant death – set free – death was due to rickets – Dec 2011
- Childhood Fractures – consensus report on vitamin D – Feb 2016
- Shaken Baby Syndrome - Movie April 2016
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JAMA apparently disagrees - Oct 2017
- Flawed Theories to Explain Child Physical Abuse: What Are the Medical-Legal Consequences? Download the PDF fromSci-Hub via VitaminDWiki
Miller M1,2, Stolfi A3, Ayoub D4.
- 1 Dayton Children's Hospital, Department of Medical Genetics, 1 Children's Plaza, Dayton, OH 45404, USA.
- 2 Department of Pediatrics, Ob/Gyn and Biomedical Engineering, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton, OH, USA.
- 3 Department of Pediatrics, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton, OH, USA.
- 4 Clinical Radiologists, SC, Springfield, IL, USA.
Background Infants who present with multiple unexplained fractures (MUF) are often diagnosed as victims of child abuse when parents deny wrongdoing and cannot provide a plausible alternative explanation. Herein we describe evidence of specific and commonly overlooked radiographic abnormalities and risk factors that suggest a medical explanation in such cases.
Methods We evaluated such infants in which we reviewed the radiographs for signs of poor bone mineralization. We reviewed medical, pregnancy and family histories.
Results Seventy-five of 78 cases showed poor bone mineralization with findings of healing rickets indicating susceptibility to fragility fractures that could result from a wide variety of causes other than child abuse.
We found risk factors that could explain the poor bone mineralization:
- maternal and infant vitamin D deficiency (VDD),
- decreased fetal bone loading,
- prematurity and
- others.
Most infants had more than one risk factor indicating that this bone disorder is a multifactorial disorder that we term metabolic bone disease of infancy (MBDI). Maternal and infant VDD were common. When tested, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels were often elevated, indicating metabolic bone disease.
Conclusions Child abuse is sometimes incorrectly diagnosed in infants with MUF. Appreciation of the radiographic signs of MBDI (healing rickets), risk factors for MBDI and appropriate laboratory testing will improve diagnostic accuracy in these cases.