Soerdjbalie-Maikoe Vidija, Bilo Rob A C, van den Akker Elena, Maes Ann
Nederlands Forensisch Instituut (NFI), Den Haag, The Netherlands.
Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2010;154:A2285.
To evaluate the number of cases of fatal child abuse in minors on whom forensic autopsy was carried out in the Netherlands during the period 1996-2009 and to compare the 1996 data with Dutch data published earlier by Kuyvenhoven et al. (a questionnaire study among general practitioners and paediatricians).
Descriptive retrospective study.
Cases of unnatural death from all forensic autopsies on fetuses, children and young adults (> 24 weeks and < 18 years; n = 688) over the past 14 years (1996-2009) were retrospectively analyzed for child abuse. By means of death certificates and suspected cause of death, the actual outcomes of the 1996 data were compared with those of the study of Kuyvenhoven et al.
Over the past 14 years, in 445 of 688 forensic cases (65%) in this study population, cause of death was demonstrated to be unnatural. Of these deaths, 54% (n = 239/445) were unnatural and non-accidental due to child abuse. This corresponded with an annual average of 15 (30%) 'proven' and 2 (5%) 'highly probable' cases of fatal child abuse. The total number of abandoned babies, foundlings and otherwise, was on average 4 per year. In 1996 57% (13/23) of fatal child abuse cases were not represented in the data published by Kuyvenhoven et al.
Of the 49 foetuses, children and young adults on whom forensic autopsy was carried out in the Netherlands each year, 17 (35%) died due to proven or highly probable child abuse. In 1996 more than half of the number of fatal cases of child abuse of the Netherlands Forensic Institute were not represented in the study of Kuyvenhoven et al. In both this study and in the one of Kuyvenhoven underreporting is highly probable.
评估1996年至2009年期间在荷兰接受法医尸检的未成年受虐致死儿童的病例数，并将1996年的数据与Kuyvenhoven等人此前发表的荷兰数据（一项针对全科医生和儿科医生的问卷调查研究）进行比较。
描述性回顾性研究。
对过去14年（1996年至2009年）所有对胎儿、儿童和青年（>24周且<18岁；n=688）进行的法医尸检中的非自然死亡病例进行回顾性分析，以确定是否存在虐待儿童情况。通过死亡证明和疑似死因，将1996年数据的实际结果与Kuyvenhoven等人的研究结果进行比较。
在过去14年中，本研究人群的688例法医案件中有445例（65%）被证明死因是非自然的。在这些死亡病例中，54%（n=239/445）是非自然且非意外的，系受虐致死。这相当于平均每年有15例（30%）“已证实”和2例（5%）“极有可能”的受虐致死儿童病例。弃婴、被遗弃儿童及其他情况的总数平均每年为4例。1996年，Kuyvenhoven等人发表的数据中未涵盖57%（13/23）的受虐致死儿童病例。
在荷兰每年接受法医尸检的49例胎儿、儿童和青年中，17例（35%）死于已证实或极有可能的受虐情况。1996年，荷兰法医研究所受虐致死儿童病例数的一半以上未在Kuyvenhoven等人的研究中体现。在本研究和Kuyvenhoven的研究中，漏报情况都极有可能存在。
