Severity of head computed tomography scan findings fail to explain racial differences in mortality following child abuse

Abstract

Introduction: Differences in head injury severity may not be fully appreciated in child abuse victims. The purpose of this study was to determine if differential findings on initial head computed tomography (CT) scan could explain observed differential outcome by race.

Methods: We identified 164 abuse patients from our trauma registry with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) > or = 15. Their initial head CT scan was graded from 1 to 4 (normal to severe). Statistical analysis was performed to asses the correlation between race, head CT grade, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, and mortality.

Results: Overall mortality was 17%: 11% for white children, 32% for African-American children (P < .05). In review of the head CT scans there was no difference by race in types of injuries or head CT grade. Using a multivariate regression model, African-American race remained an independent risk factor for mortality with an odd ratio of 4.3 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6-11.5).

Conclusion: African-American children had a significantly higher mortality rate despite similar findings on initial head CT scans. Factors other than injury severity may explain these disparate outcomes.