OBJECTIVE: To alert pediatricians and pediatric residents on the possibility of child abuse by reporting a clinical case. CASE DESCRIPTION: An 18 month-old infant was brought to the Emergency Department due to abdominal pain and vomiting for 48 hours. Abdominal examination revealed two holes and a small hardened mass. An abdominal X-ray showed three metallic objects. Two sewing needles and one nail without a head were removed from the abdominal cavity by laparotomy. COMMENTS: Diagnosis was performed in the second medical care, probably because the intentional injury had not been considered in the first visit. Physical violence is a differential diagnosis to be considered in the presence of abdominal pain in children. It is worth noting the importance of improving pediatric resident training, and also of pediatricians in general, in relation to the approach of child abuse, enabling them to use adequate care in cases of violence.
battered child syndrome; abdominal pain; internship and residency; education, medical
