Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Intensive Care Med 2022 May 20:8850666221100482. Epub 2022 May 20.

Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Critical Care, 25044Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.

Objective: To examine medical and psychosocial risk factors associated with the development of acute stress in parents of patients unexpectedly admitted to the PICU.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: Two tertiary care children's hospitals with mixed medical/surgical/cardiac PICU. Read More

Qual Health Res 2022 May 13:10497323221085941. Epub 2022 May 13.

Department of Public Health, 37463Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.

Nodding Syndrome (NS) occurs within a wide spectrum of epilepsies seen in onchocerciasis endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa. It has debilitating consequences on affected individuals and increases the socio-economic, physical and psychological burden on care-givers and their households, diminishing their standing within the community. Social science research on the disproportionate burden of the disease on females is limited. Read More

Pediatrics 2022 05;149(Suppl 5)

School of International Development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Objective: Middle childhood is a critical period for physical, social, behavioral, and cognitive changes. A positive and healthy sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) foundation can minimize SRHR risks, leading to better outcomes. Our objective is to identify effective educational interventions promoting or supporting the SRHR of school-age children in low and middle-income countries. Read More

Mol Psychiatry 2022 Apr 28. Epub 2022 Apr 28.

Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.

Numerous risk factors for mental disorders have been identified. However, we do not know how many disorders we could prevent and to what extent by modifying these risk factors. This study quantifies the Population Attributable Fraction (PAF) of potentially modifiable risk factors for mental disorders. Read More

Cureus 2022 Mar 21;14(3):e23347. Epub 2022 Mar 21.

Biostatistics and Medical İnformation, School of Medicine, University of Hatay Mustafa Kemal, Hatay, TUR.

Introduction: Child abuse combines emotional, physical, sexual, and neglect aspects of violence, thus diversifying the trauma for a child. Publications about child abuse had been discussed in academia for long years and evaluated by bibliometric analysis, frequently. This study aims to evaluate the most discussed/disseminated scientific publications about child abuse in electronic media such as social media accounts, blogs, podcasts, and media news sites using a new analysis method called altmetric analysis. Read More

Trauma Violence Abuse 2022 Apr 25:15248380221086898. Epub 2022 Apr 25.

Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, 12222University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Therapeutic dance has been increasingly used as a treatment modality for sexual trauma, yet its evidence-based efficacy has not yet been catalogued. We therefore conducted a systematic review to summarize the existing evidence for therapeutic dance as an intervention for healing after sexual trauma. We searched 5 major databases to identify intervention studies on the use of therapeutic dance for individuals with histories of sexual trauma. Read More

J Forensic Nurs 2022 Apr 19. Epub 2022 Apr 19.

Center of Hope Forensics, Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital.

Abstract: There are many challenges in providing trauma-informed healthcare to pediatric victims of sexual abuse and their families. We address this through collaborative interprofessional efforts within our hospital facility, located in a Midwestern adult Level 1 and pediatric trauma center. Our sexual assault nurse examiner team is composed of eight nurses and provides 24/7 coverage. Read More

Arch Dis Child 2022 Apr 5. Epub 2022 Apr 5.

Sussex Children's Sexual Assault Referral Centre, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, Brighton, UK

Making associations between sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and child sexual abuse can be controversial. To contribute to the paucity of research in this field, this service evaluation aims to (1) define the prevalence of STIs in children aged 0-13 years seen at a regional Children's Sexual Assault Referral Centre, (2) determine whether sexual transmission is the most likely mode of transmission for diagnosed STIs, (3) identify factors affecting application of STI screening and (4) assess follow-up. Methods consisted of retrospective analysis of an anonymous database for all patients seen between 1 July 2016 and 1 July 2019. Read More

Child Abuse Negl 2022 Jun 28;128:105619. Epub 2022 Mar 28.

Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.

Background: Previous studies of national emergency department (ED) data demonstrate a decrease in visits coded for physical abuse during the pandemic period. However, no study to date has examined the incidence of multiple child maltreatment types (physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect), within a single state while considering state-specific closure policies. Furthermore, no similar study has utilized detailed chart review to identify cases, nor compared hospital data to Child Protective Services (CPS) reports. Read More

J Am Acad Dermatol 2022 Mar 23. Epub 2022 Mar 23.

Department of Pediatrics, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Connecticut Children's Medical Center Hartford, CT.

Given that some cutaneous mimics of child abuse result from rare disease, they may be more prone to misdiagnosis. For possible child abuse cases in which diagnosis remains uncertain at time of initial dermatologic evaluation, it is important that dermatologists are prepared to distinguish true dermatologic conditions in cases of ambiguous skin findings. Additionally, this review will aid clinicians in recognizing the possibility of concurrent true dermatologic disease and skin findings related to abuse with the acknowledgement that they are not mutually exclusive. Read More

BMC Public Health 2022 03 23;22(1):575. Epub 2022 Mar 23.

Department of Emergency Medicine, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.

Background: In the past decade, the U.S. immigration detention system regularly detained more than 30,000 people per day; in 2019 prior to the pandemic, the daily detention population exceeded 52,000 people. Read More

Front Psychiatry 2022 2;13:818774. Epub 2022 Mar 2.

Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

AIDS Behav 2022 Mar 18. Epub 2022 Mar 18.

Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

The substance use, violence, and AIDS (SAVA) syndemic framework is used to study risk for HIV/AIDS. As a secondary analysis from a large HIV/AIDS prevention study, we categorized participants into having from zero to three SAVA conditions based on the presence or absence of self-reported substance use in the past 4 months, history of lifetime sexual abuse, and intimate partner violence. We used Poisson regression models to examine the association between the number of SAVA conditions and sexual risk behavior. Read More

Acta Paediatr 2022 Jun 22;111(6):1186-1193. Epub 2022 Mar 22.

Department of Paediatrics, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund, Sweden.

Aim: Sweden´s first multidisciplinary children's advocacy centre (CAC) was founded in 2005 as a collaborative practice between child protection services, the legal system and health care in response to police-reported child abuse. CACs were introduced in the county of Skåne in 2007. The aim of the study was to describe the health of children investigated at the CAC in Lund, and to examine whether the CAC model of collaboration responded to the healthcare needs of these children. Read More

J Interpers Violence 2022 Feb 21:8862605211072164. Epub 2022 Feb 21.

Department of Pediatrics, 3710McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.

Adverse effects of childhood maltreatment experience and adolescent depression symptoms are theorized to be more profound for adolescents who have suffered multiple maltreatments (polyvictimization). New theoretical insights into the study of polyvictimization suggest that it must be studied using a multiplicative logic, particularly when maltreatment is characterized by invasive exploitation. This study, for the first time, examined the concept of invasive exploitation in the context of polyvictimization and its association with adolescent depression symptoms. Read More

Ital J Pediatr 2022 Feb 18;48(1):32. Epub 2022 Feb 18.

Medical Direction, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.

Background: Emergency Departments play a pivotal role in detecting cases of child abuse. Despite the efforts made in the past decades on the need for a screening method for the early detection of abuse victims, a unique instrument shared by the international scientific community has not been made. These instruments should be able to help recognizing whether it is necessary to further investigate the child's condition. Read More

J Acad Consult Liaison Psychiatry 2022 Feb 15. Epub 2022 Feb 15.

School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Public Health Building, Herston, Queensland, Australia.

Background: Health anxiety is a subtype of the older term hypochondriasis, in which there is worry rather than conviction of having an illness. Information on the association between childhood maltreatment and health anxiety in adulthood often comes from retrospective questionnaires that may be subject to recall bias. There are no prospective data studies using reports to statutory agencies. Read More

Child Abuse Negl 2022 05 12;127:105525. Epub 2022 Feb 12.

Pediatric Translational Medicine Institute, Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, Shanghai, China; Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology, Shanghai, China. Electronic address:

Background: Child maltreatment (CM) can result in lifelong detrimental consequences, but its association with sleep disturbances in young children remains unclear.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association of CM with sleep disturbances and short sleep duration among Chinese preschoolers.

Participants And Setting: Data were from a representative sample of 17,023 children (6. Read More

Semin Ultrasound CT MR 2022 Feb 15;43(1):51-60. Epub 2021 May 15.

Department of Radiology, Seattle Children's Hospital, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA. Electronic address:

Child abuse is a broad term that includes, but is not limited to, physical or emotional harm, neglect, sexual abuse, and exploitation. In 2018 in the United States, there were nearly 700,000 victims of such maltreatment, of which 1700 children died. The majority of deaths occur in infants and toddlers under 3 years of age. Read More

Clin Ter 2022 Feb;173(1):10-14

S.C. Medicina Legale U, A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, Turin, Italy.

Abstract: Childhood traumatic experiences have often been associated with the development of severe psychiatric disorders or, at least, with serious impairment in the victims' developing personality. Emotional abuse and neglect can cause gradual damage to Self-image and to models of self-in-relation to Others. We report a case of a woman who underwent psychiatric evaluations for marriage annulment. Read More

Ann Intern Med 2022 04 1;175(4):479-489. Epub 2022 Feb 1.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Medical Practice Evaluation Center, and Division of General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (R.P.W.).

Background: The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 083 trial demonstrated the superiority of long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) compared with oral emtricitabine-tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (F/TDF) for HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Objective: To identify the maximum price premium (that is, greatest possible price differential) that society should be willing to accept for the additional benefits of CAB-LA over tenofovir-based PrEP among men who have sex with men and transgender women (MSM/TGW) in the United States.

Design: Simulation, cost-effectiveness analysis. Read More

Child Abuse Negl 2022 03 25;125:105506. Epub 2022 Jan 25.

Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital, United States of America. Electronic address:

Background: Identification of sex-trafficked youth in the emergency department (ED) is difficult and routine screening is uncommon.

Objectives: Our Quality Improvement (QI) Project aimed to increase ED screening and identification of high-risk youth using the Short Screen for Child Sex Trafficking (SSCST).

Participants: Youth (11 through 17 years) seeking care at two metropolitan EDs with a high-risk chief complaint triggering a best practice alert (BPA). Read More

Pediatr Qual Saf 2022 Jan-Feb;7(1):e522. Epub 2022 Jan 21.

Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pa.

Introduction: The objective was to assess the impact of interventions associated with ongoing expert peer review on the quality of child abuse medical providers' written and photograph documentation in child sexual abuse cases.

Methods: Pediatricians participated in a HIPAA compliant blind peer review process on a web platform developed to provide the American Board of Pediatrics maintenance of certification. Participants submit sequential photograph and written documentation of child sexual abuse examinations over 1 year. Read More

Child Abuse Negl 2022 03 19;125:105460. Epub 2022 Jan 19.

Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Levvel, Academic Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address:

Background: The discovery that one's child has been sexually abused may be one of the worst events a parent can experience. The importance of parental support for the recovery of child sexual abuse (CSA) victims emphasizes the need to gain insight in difficulties parents face after disclosure.

Objective: To improve crisis intervention by exploring how parents of very young, mostly male CSA victims involved in a large unique CSA case, look back on their initial reactions after disclosure, the impact of media coverage, and their experiences with service responses during the immediate aftermath of CSA discovery. Read More

Semin Reprod Med 2022 Jan 20. Epub 2022 Jan 20.

Division of Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

This article provides an overview of the social determinants of adolescents and young adults' (AYAs') sexual and reproductive health (SRH), from a global health perspective. The status of AYAs' SRH constitutes leading health indicators across nations and globally, and reveals the well-being of this population. Throughout the article, AYAs' SRH is approached from a health equity perspective, which includes SRH health rights and reproductive justice. Read More

Cureus 2021 Dec 13;13(12):e20379. Epub 2021 Dec 13.

Pediatrics, Lady Reading Hospital, Medical Teaching Institution (MTI), Peshawar, PAK.

Objective To determine the different types of child abuse and its association with behavioral disorders in children presenting to a tertiary care hospital. Materials and methods One hundred abused Pakistani children, of both genders, were included. Children with cerebral palsy, a neurodegenerative disorder, chronic illness, chronic liver disease, congenital heart disease, chronic renal failure, and parents who refused to become part of the study were excluded. Read More

Int J Surg Case Rep 2022 Feb 10;91:106758. Epub 2022 Jan 10.

Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, P. O Box 2240, Moshi, Tanzania; Department of Urology, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center, P.O Box 3010, Moshi, Tanzania.

Introduction And Importance: Ano-genital warts are rare presentation in children. The main route of transmission is by sexual intercourse however horizontal transmission, self-inoculation and vertical transmission are also documented. Establishing the route of transmission when there is no evidence of sexual abuse may be difficult in pediatric and female virgins such as in our case report. Read More

J Pharm Bioallied Sci 2021 Nov 10;13(Suppl 2):S1705-S1708. Epub 2021 Nov 10.

Department of Dentistry, Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Amritsar, Punjab, India.

Background: Oral cavity may be considered a pivotal focal point in physical assault or abuse because of its implication in communication and nutrition. Dentists trained in a child abuse curriculum can provide valuable information and assistance to physicians about oral and dental aspects of child abuse and neglect. The present study was conducted to evaluate the orofacial features of children between the age group of 5-16 years suspected to be victims of child abuse/neglect. Read More

Trauma Violence Abuse 2022 Jan 8:15248380211061403. Epub 2022 Jan 8.

Department of Psychiatry, 12222David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Nationwide efforts to enhance services for adolescents experiencing commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) in the judicial system have led to the emergence of specialty courts, including human trafficking and girls' courts. Given that prior research has documented competing stances on the effectiveness of specialty courts for CSE-impacted populations, we conducted a systematic review of the literature to identify key characteristics of programming, profiles of adolescents served, and effectiveness of these courts. To identify relevant research and information, we systematically searched scholarly databases and information sources, conducted reference harvesting, and forwarded citation chaining. Read More