Fracture patterns in battered children.

We reviewed cases of 75 battered children with fractures over a 2-year period. The average age was 16 months; 57% were boys. There were 154 fractures (2.0 per child); 77% were acute and 23% were old. The most common fracture occurred in the skull (32%) and the most common long bone fracture occurred in the tibia (16%). The most common long bone fracture pattern was transverse (41%); corner fractures accounted for 28% of long bone fractures. An isolated acute fracture was the orthopaedic injury in 65% of the children, whereas multiple fractures in various stages of healing were present in only 13% of children.