[Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy as a special form of head injury complication in battered child syndrome].

[child syndrome]

The battered child syndrome is increasingly more often described in literature . Head injuries experienced by battered children are the main cause of deaths and neurological complications . A special form of damage inflicted in battered children is vessel background brain injury . The objective of the article was to characterize central nervous system injuries and their results in children who were victims of physical violence . Medical records of three patients hospitalized in Department of Neurology of the Polish Mother Health Center Institute in Lodz , in whom the battered child syndrome had been diagnosed , were analyzed . The authors discussed three cases of children with central nervous system injuries caused by physical violence . All the children were treated pharmacologically , placed on parenteral nutrition and rehabilitated . Among typical central nervous system injuries caused by head trauma , particular attention of the authors was focused on hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy , a complication of a still unclear etiology that occurred in two cases . Battered children are usually treated in surgical departments and the causes of injuries are not always correctly diagnosed . Brain damage is the reason for permanent neurological consequences in children who experienced physical violence . In medico-legal practice , it is essential to describe precisely all the visible injuries (bruises , abrasions , wounds ) especially during the initial medical examination .