http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/shakenbaby/shakenbaby.htm
What is Shaken Baby Syndrome?
Shaken baby syndrome is a type of inflicted traumatic brain injury that happens when a baby is violently shaken. A baby has weak neck muscles and a large, heavy head. Shaking makes the fragile brain bounce back and forth inside the skull and causes bruising, swelling, and bleeding, which can lead to permanent, severe brain damage or death. The characteristic injuries of shaken baby syndrome are subdural hemorrhages (bleeding in the brain), retinal hemorrhages (bleeding in the retina), damage to the spinal cord and neck, and fractures of the ribs and bones. These injuries may not be immediately noticeable. Symptoms of shaken baby syndrome include extreme irritability, lethargy, poor feeding, breathing problems, convulsions, vomiting, and pale or bluish skin. Shaken baby injuries usually occur in children younger than 2 years old, but may be seen in children up to the age of 5.Is there any treatment?
Emergency treatment for a baby who has been shaken usually includes life-sustaining measures such as respiratory support and surgery to stop internal bleeding and bleeding in the brain. Doctors may use brain scans, such as MRI and CT, to make a more definite diagnosis.What is the prognosis?
In comparison with accidental traumatic brain injury in infants, shaken baby injuries have a much worse prognosis. Damage to the retina of the eye can cause blindness. The majority of infants who survive severe shaking will have some form of neurological or mental disability, such as cerebral palsy or mental retardation, which may not be fully apparent before 6 years of age. Children with shaken baby syndrome may require lifelong medical care.What research is being done?
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and other institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), conduct research related to shaken baby syndrome in laboratories at the NIH and also support additional research through grants to major medical institutions across the country. Much of this research focuses on finding better ways to treat and heal medical conditions such as shaken baby syndrome.Generate your own contact table!
Sunday June 24th 2007, I received a phone call at work from Evelynn's father saying she was making funny noises. He brought her to me where I noticed she was unresponsive. I called an ambulance where they did a cat scan and several other tests. They noticed that she had bleeding on the brain from front to back due to blunt forced trauma. She was then transfered to Stony Brook Hospital where both Joshua and I were interrogated. After about 3 hours of questioning I was told that Joshua had admitted to pushing our daughter Evelynn off the bed where she hit her head on the bed post. He then kicked her in the head 5 times and shook her. He admitted to doing it because he was tired and it was her feeding time so she was fussing to eat. Joshua is currently charged with three felonies and is held on 500,000 bail, a million bond. As of today July 1st 2007, Evelynn has her eyes open. She is still coming out of the coma and doing aswell as she can. She is still seizing, but the seizures are very subtle and much better then they were. As a precaution to the low-grade fevers Evelynn has been experiencing, this morning they took cultures for infection but so far she is clear of any infection. Her legs are much more mobile than her arms. She is still swelled from retaining so much fluids, though it has eased. She has made 2 very stinky bowel movements today and made a few very heavy pee-pee diapers, finally. Evelynn does have many coughing and gagging fits because of the feeding tube and because she's intubated to help her breathe. She sometimes even tries to cry. The ventilator is only giving her 16 breaths as of right now, (7:41pm) but shes breathing 44 altogether. Thats well above the vent. Evelynn is on two seizure medications if these dont surpress the seizures, she may need to go back into the induced coma.