Epidemiology of Abusive Head Trauma Among Children in Saudi Arabia

Background and objectives: To examine abusive head trauma (AHT) trends using data obtained from hospital-based child protection centers (CPCs) and the distribution of age in months among young children in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted that includes data obtained from 58 hospital-based CPCs in all 13 regions of Saudi Arabia registered in the National Family Safety Registry from 2010 to 2020. AHT cases (n=106) were identified for inclusion in the registry by a daily review of the emergency department logbooks.

Results: Over the 11-year period, there was a sharp increase in the number of cases, specifically after 2014, from seven cases per year in 2010 to 16 cases in 2020. AHT affects predominantly children aged 0-12 months (72.6%), followed by 13-24 months (17.9%), 25-36 months (3.8%), 37-48 months (3.8%), and 49-60 months (1.9%). Victims were characterized by a predominance of crying infants (23.6%), past history of abuse (13.2%), a child's chronic disease and disability (7.6%), and prematurity (2.8%).

Conclusion: Different training and educational programs need to be performed to raise awareness of AHT. Enacting the pediatrician's mandatory reporting law will improve the rate of reporting cases.