Shaken baby syndrome: a nursing perspective
Chiocca, E.M.
Pediatric Nursing 21(1): 33-38
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0097-9805 PMID: 7715967 Document Number: 448874
Child abuse by whiplash-shaking can lead to severe injury in infants, including cerebral damage, neurological defects, blindness, and mental retardation. These findings are seen often without external evidence of head injury. Nurses should suspect shaken baby syndrome (SBS) in infants less than 1 year of age who present with apnea, seizures, lethargy or drowsiness, bradycardia, respiratory difficulty, coma, or death. Subdural and retinal hemorrhages accompanied by the absence of external signs of trauma are hallmarks of the syndrome.