Introduction
Abusive head trauma (AHT) in infants and children is a complex and challenging clinical diagnosis. Because of its clinical, social, and legal implications, few pediatric diagnoses evoke as much cognitive difficulty and emotional distress as AHT. Over the past several decades, considerable literature has been published on various aspects of the AHT diagnosis including epidemiology, historical features, clinical findings, biomechanics, differential diagnoses, outcomes, and prevention. The volume and critical analysis of the published literature can be daunting to even the most motivated pediatric provider.
To date, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has not promulgated, in the form of a technical report, a comprehensive review of the evidence-based literature surrounding AHT. Although the AAP has addressed the subject matter in other treatises, a scientific review in the form of a technical report offers the benefit of openly available, readily accessible, and more frequently updatable scientific information.1,2 Additionally, as the diagnosis has engendered some media and legal controversy, which then spills into a clinical venue, a technical report can assist the pediatric provider in communicating the scientific information to interdisciplinary colleagues such as child welfare agencies and courts.