Cmaj Podcasts

Child physical abuse often presents first with injuries that appear minor, but missing these early warning signs can have devastating consequences. Two recent CMAJ papers examine how sentinel injuries in infants may signal escalating risk and how patterns of severe maltreatment shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, they offer practical guidance on when clinicians should escalate concerns and highlight system factors that shape risk for vulnerable children.Dr. Megan Cooney, a child maltreatment pediatrician at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg and co-author of “Five things to know about sentinel injuries and indicators of child physical abuse”, explains why medically minor injuries in pre-cruising infants require careful scrutiny. She notes that more than one quarter of children who experience catastrophic abuse had previously been seen for minor injuries. Any unexplained or poorly explained injury in a non-cruising infant should raise concern. She also reviews the validated TEN-4-FACESp clinical decis