CORRELATION BETWEEN FRACTURES an‎d ABUSE IN CHILDREN: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS

Objective: The aim of this work is to provide evidence for the rela-tionship between suspicion and diagnosis of cases of child abuse and fractures, since, in national literature, studies are still scarce on the subject. Methods: Retrospective study involving electronic medical records of a public reference hospital, in a city of the state of São Paulo, in a 8-year period (2010 to 2018). Cases involving children up to 12 years of age were selected when notified as abuse and presenting fractures; data were statistically analyzed. Results: Among 83 cases of abuse, 19 patients (20.5%) had 23 different fractures. The victims were mainly boys (68.42%) with a mean age of 5 years old, who suffered physical aggression (79%). The majority had no identified aggressor (52%) and 21% were related to the mother. The fracture patterns found involved, mostly, skull fractures (43.48%) and diaphysary fractures (34.78%). Seven patients (30.43%) had other associated lesions and four patients died (21%). Conclusion: Despite the number of cases, it was possible to identify relevant characteristics and patterns. These data indicate that the diagnosis is underesti-mated and show small epidemiological differences compared with international literature. Level of Evidence II, Retrospective study.