Report to the Prosecutor in Cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma: Still an Ongoing Debate

The shaken baby syndrome is a kind of abusive or non-accidental head trauma that occurs when a child is violently shaken, actually described using the term abusive head trauma. This pathological condition has classically been diagnosed on the so-called “triad”, characterized by the presence of subdural hemorrhage, retinal hemorrhage and neurological dysfunction. We report the case of a 5-month-old female baby found senseless and violently shaken by his father after accidentally falling from the crib. The attempt to resuscitate failed and the man took his daughter to the Emergency Department where she arrived unconscious. After a pediatric and ophthalmological examination and a brain CT, a medico-legal evaluation was requested to assess if the case was suitable for referring the matter to the State Prosecutor.