Reports of Maltreatment in a Children's Hospital: Evaluation of the Epidemiological Profile and Its Relationship with the Outcome in Fractures

Objective  To describe suspected/confirmed cases of child maltreatment related to fractures in a pediatric hospital in southern Brazil. Method  Study of the Information System of Notifiable Diseases notifications and the victims' medical records between January/2016 and December/2020. Variables related to the victim, the perpetrator, the type of abuse, the presence of fractures, and their anatomical location and death were evaluated. Logistic regression was performed to identify fracture-related variables, adjusted for sex and age. The results were expressed in odds ratios and their respective 95% confidence intervals. It was considered significant p  < 0.05. Results  There were 276 cases, 73 infants (26.4%), male predominance (151, 54.7%), with authorship of the mistreatment by relatives (245, 96,0%), 85 (31,5%), they presented fractures, with five deaths (1.9%). Factors related to the presence of fracture: age of the victim (less than two years old; n  = 82; or 2.48; 95% CI: 1.45 - 4.25), having more than two aggressors involved ( n  = 144; or 2.09; 95% CI: 1.16-3.75), the medium being traffic/automobile accident, ( n  = 52; or 2.65; 95% CI: 1.04-6.75), consult an orthopedist ( n  = 91; or 6.77 / 95% CI: 3.66-12.51), and the need for surgical intervention ( n  = 15; OR 36.72; 95% CI: 8.22-164.03). Conclusions  The importance of suspicion, early identification of aggression, and the correct completion of notifications for activating the system of guaranteeing rights and removal of the aggressor was emphasized.

Acute exogenous intoxications in childhood: factors related to hospitalization

OBJECTIVE

To describe the profile of children assisted in the Emergency Room of a Children reference Hospital in the South of Brazil, victims of acute poisoning between 2016 and 2021, to characterize the toxic agents and to present the factors related to hospitalization.

METHODS

Retrospective, descriptive and observational study with data collection from medical records at a children's hospital from July 2016 to June 2021 based on the compulsory notification forms. The characteristics of victims, of the incident, the type and class of the substance involved, the procedures demanded and the need for the Intensive Care Unit were evaluated. The outcome considered was hospitalization. Absolute and relative frequencies were calculated for the categorical variables and measures of central tendency and dispersion for the numerical ones. Binary logistic regression was performed to identify variables related to hospitalization.

RESULTS

There were 411 consultations, with the mean age of 7.2±5.5 years, and predominance of females (59.9%). Most of the poisoning occurred at home (82.1%) and orally (93.7%). Chemicals or cleaning products were the main agents in children up to 1 year of age, whereas in the other age groups accidents occurred most frequently with medicines. Hospital admission occurred in 38.7% of the cases, with related variables being: number of agents, type of substance involved, medication that acts on the Central Nervous System, recurrence, motivation (accidental/intentional), and performance of simple exams.

CONCLUSIONS

More preventive actions are needed, such as legislation, as well as greater guidance to parents on how to store products in the domestic environment, in order to reduce the number of exogenous intoxications in the pediatric population.

Sexual violence against children in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil: characteristics and factors related to repetitive violence

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to characterize child sexual abuse and investigate the factors related to its repetition in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil.

METHODS

This is a descriptive and analytical study, with data from 2009-2019 SINAN. Sociodemographic variables related to the circumstances of violence were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to test factors related to repetitive violence.

RESULTS

A total of 3489 cases of child sexual abuse were reported: 73.3% were girls, the most prevalent age ranged from 6 to 10 years, and 51% reported repetitive violence. The majority was perpetrated by one (85.6%) person, and in cases in which two or more perpetrators were involved, the proportion of occurrence was higher for boys (17%) versus girls (13%). Among the risk factors for the repetition of sexual violence are the place of occurrence being the residence, the perpetrator (the stepfather, the brother, and the father) being under the influence of alcohol, and the age of the child between 6 and 10 years.

CONCLUSION

The profile and factors that help in the identification of repetitive child sexual abuse were presented, such as the authorship being related to stepfathers, parents, and siblings, the perpetrator being under the influence of alcohol, and the victim's age between 6 and 10 years.

Completeness, consistency and non-duplicity of records of child sexual abuse on the Notifiable Health Conditions Information System in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, 2009-2019

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the completeness, consistency and duplicity of records of child sexual abuse on the Notifiable Health Conditions Information System (SINAN) in Santa Catarina, Brazil, between 2009 and 2019.

METHODS

This was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study aimed to assess the quality of SINAN data regarding completeness, consistency and non-duplicity.

RESULTS

3,489 cases of violence were reported, with a 662.5% increase in the number of notifications in the period studied, with the increase in the number of referral centers for the care of people in situations of sexual violence in the state, explaining 46.7% of the variation in the number of cases, between the years studied. Consistency was excellent in 90.0% of the records; and completeness ranged between excellent and good in 92.3% of them. There was an increased trend in completeness for 14 variables in the period. There were no duplicate records.

CONCLUSION

Data from the sexual violence against children surveillance system were considered adequate regarding the questions that were assessed in the study.

VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS: NOTIFICATION AND ALERT IN TIMES OF PANDEMIC

Objective:

Social isolation is currently identified as the best way to prevent the infection by the new coronavirus. However, for some social groups, such as children and adolescents, this measure carries a contradiction: the home, which should be the safest place for them, is also a frequent environment of a sad aggravation: domestic violence. This study aims to evaluate the notifications of interpersonal/self-inflicted violence available in the Information System for Notifiable Diseases in the State of Santa Catarina (southern Brazil), for the juvenile age group, before and during the new coronavirus pandemics.

Methods:

Cross-sectional, descriptive study of violence against children and adolescents (from 0 to 19 years) notified by health professionals by completing and entering the occurrence in the Information System for Notifiable Diseases of the State of Santa Catarina in 11 weeks in which the social isolation measure was instituted as mandatory, comparing with the same period before this measure.

Results:

During the study period, 136 municipalities in Santa Catarina made 1,851 notifications. There was a decrease of 55.3% of them in the isolation period, and the difficulties encountered in seeking protection and assistance institutions were listed.

Conclusions:

The society needs to be aware of possible cases of violence in the children and adolescent population. It is important to provide accessible, effective, and safe ways for complaints and notifications, as well as a quick response to the cases, aiming at protecting victims and minimizing damages to prevent the perpetuation of the violence.

Sexual violence against children: authors, victims and consequences

The scope of this study was to identify the characteristics of sexual abuse against children including the profiles of the victims and the perpetrators, and associated factors notified in a health service of reference with the database of the Brazilian Case Registry Database, in a city in the south of Brazil. Categorical variables are presented in prevalence with 95% confidence intervals. There were 489 notifications from 2008 to 2014 of confirmed or suspected child sexual abuse. The majority was related to female victims, but the repeated abuse was reported mainly with male victims. In most cases, the abuse took place at the victims' or perpetrators' homes and the main perpetrators of abuse were male and acquainted with the victims. Twelve victims have contracted sexually transmitted infections; pregnancies were six, five of them legally terminated. This study highlights that the child sexual abuse profiles were similar in almost all of Brazilian regions, showing that it is possible to have a coordinated national action to prevent this offence.