1. Updated Guidelines for the Medical Assessment and Care of Children Who May Have Been Sexually Abused
- Author
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Vincent J. Palusci, Karen Farst, Carolyn J. Levitt, Lori D. Frasier, Joyce A. Adams, Suzanne P. Starling, Nancy D. Kellogg, Nancy S. Harper, Rebecca L. Moles, and Robert A. Shapiro
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Male ,Child abuse ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,Substance-Related Disorders ,Consensus Development Conferences as Topic ,Sexually Transmitted Diseases ,Alternative medicine ,Child Welfare ,Poison control ,Suicide prevention ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,030225 pediatrics ,Obstetrics and Gynaecology ,Injury prevention ,Sexually transmitted infections ,Humans ,Medicine ,Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Child ,Physical Examination ,Medical history taking ,Expert testimony ,business.industry ,Medical findings ,Obstetrics and Gynecology ,Child Abuse, Sexual ,General Medicine ,United States ,Child sexual abuse ,Sexual abuse ,Expert opinion ,Child, Preschool ,Family medicine ,Practice Guidelines as Topic ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Female ,Differential diagnosis ,business - Abstract
The medical evaluation is an important part of the clinical and legal process when child sexual abuse is suspected. Practitioners who examine children need to be up to date on current recommendations regarding when, how, and by whom these evaluations should be conducted, as well as how the medical findings should be interpreted. A previously published article on guidelines for medical care for sexually abused children has been widely used by physicians, nurses, and nurse practitioners to inform practice guidelines in this field. Since 2007, when the article was published, new research has suggested changes in some of the guidelines and in the table that lists medical and laboratory findings in children evaluated for suspected sexual abuse and suggests how these findings should be interpreted with respect to sexual abuse. A group of specialists in child abuse pediatrics met in person and via online communication from 2011 through 2014 to review published research as well as recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics and to reach consensus on if and how the guidelines and approach to interpretation table should be updated. The revisions are based, when possible, on data from well-designed, unbiased studies published in high-ranking, peer-reviewed, scientific journals that were reviewed and vetted by the authors. When such studies were not available, recommendations were based on expert consensus.
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