Femur fractures in the pediatric population - abuse or accidental trauma CORR Open Access

Description: Results A history suspicious for abuse, physical or radiographic evidence of prior injury, and age younger than 18 months were risk factors for abuse. Patients with no risk factors had a 4% chance, patients with one risk factor had a 29% chance, patients with two risk factors had an 87% chance, and patients with all three risk factors had a 92% chance of their femur fracture being a result of abuse.
Conclusions Clinicians can use this predictive model to guide judgment and referral to social services when seeing femur fractures in very young children in the emergency room.
Femur fractures in the pediatric population: abuse or accidental trauma? Baldwin K, Pandya NK, Wolfgruber H, Drummond DS, Hosalkar HS. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2011 Mar;469(3):798-804. (full text)