The battered child syndrome: clinical, social and normative aspects

Abstract

The physical abuse is one of the most relevant and dramatic problem and social phenomena at the present time. The Battered child syndrome (BCS) is a form of infantile physical abuse. It is characterized basically by three aspects: closed craneal trauma, damage of the central system nervous and retinal hemorrhage. The evaluation of the anterior and posterior segment is important for the differential diagnosis of the retinal hemorrhage and the BCS. The health professional, specially the visual and ocular health care professional, must know what to do in case of detecting an episode of child abuse, mainly BCS.