THE SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME

The shaken baby syndrome is a relatively recent concept concerning mis handled children and characterized by cerebral lesions (subarachnoid h aemorrhage, oedema, axonal injuries). A case is reported of a 11-month -old female infant, who was admitted in a paediatric intensive care un it with clinical signs of brain death after cardiopulmonary ressuscita tion. The CT scan showed subdural haemorrhage. Pathological examinatio n confirmed the major blunt head trauma. The father admitted that he h ad shaken his daughter as << she cried too often >>. The mechanism of the lesions is a combination of several factors, especially the large size of infant's head and the weakness of the neck muscles. It is poss ible to recognize still in the perinatal period children at risk of mi shandling allowing an efficient prevention of the shaken baby syndrome .