Characteristics of all emergency department visitors aged ≤18 years over 6 months in seven Dutch hospitals classified by cases screened or not screened
| Cases screened for child abuse | Cases not screened for child abuse | p Value* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency department visitors | 4769 | 19 167 | |
| Age in years (range) | 6.2 (0–18) | 6.9 (0–18) | <0.001 |
| 0–4 | 2052 (43%) | 8352 (44%) | |
| 5–8 | 976 (21%) | 3112 (16%) | |
| 9–12 | 901 (19%) | 2593 (14%) | |
| 13–18 | 838 (18%) | 4937 (26%) | |
| Sex (male) | 2690 (56%) | 10 772 (56%) | 0.85 |
| Referrer | |||
| Self-referral | 2105 (45%) | 10 258 (54%) | <0.001 |
| General practitioner | 1390 (30%) | 4044 (21%) | |
| Other | 1274 (27%) | 4865 (25%) | |
| Treating specialist | |||
| Surgeon | 2800 (59%) | 11 432 (60%) | <0.001 |
| Paediatrician | 1739 (37%) | 5894 (31%) | |
| Other | 227 (5%) | 1753 (9%) | |
| Suspected child abuse cases in he emergency department | 40 (0.8%) | 12 (0.1%) | <0.001 |
↵* Continuous variable (age) calculated with Wilcoxon rank test; categorical variables calculated with the χ2 test.