Descriptive data on intracranial hemorrhage related to fatal non-accidental head injury in a pediatric population

Summary The aim was to examine the descriptive data on intracranial hemorrhage related to fatal non-accidental head injury (NAHI) in a pediatric population that had undergone forensic pathological examination. This retrospective and multicentric study included all infants who died because of intracranial hemorrhage attributed to NAHI. Sixty-seven infants were included with a median age of 3.8 months. Forty-two percent of infants had been subjected to an isolated shaking incident, and 58% had an identified impact with or without shaking. Twenty-two percent of children had an associated fracture. Thirty percent of infants had a past history of NAHI. There was no significant statistical difference between shaking and impact concerning the gravity of the injuries. We observed considerable variability in the samples available for the forensic pathological expert examination, even though the autopsy was performed in three major French centers.