Limitations of emergency room evaluations of sexually abused children
D. P. Orr
A retrospective review was performed on charts of all children who were
treated in 1975 in the Strong Memorial Hospital (Rochester, NY) emergency
room for alleged sexual abuse, suspicious conditions, or complaints related
to the genitourinary system, and on a randomly selected comparison sample
of children treated for acute otitis media during the same period. In 44
cases of otitis media, pediatric house officers' charting uniformly
evidenced adequate care. However, in ten cases of alleged sexual abuse and
29 cases considered suspicious, the evaluations and care were significantly
(.01 greater than P less than .001) less adequate. The young pediatric
house officer deals with these problems, which are complicated by emotional
overtones and psychosocial implications, less effectively than those with
more clear-cut, routine diagnoses.
