Sexual Abuse, Pediatric

Mitchell Goldstein, MD, MBA and Courtney W. Mangus, MD Reviewed 10/2018

BASICS

DESCRIPTION

Sexual abuse is the involvement of children in sexual activities that they cannot understand, for which they are not developmentally prepared, to which they cannot give informed cons...

DIAGNOSIS

HISTORY

Diagnosis is made based on the child’s history because abnormal physical findings or lab tests are infrequent.
Attempt to limit the number of interviews.
Interview should be detailed en...

TREATMENT

GENERAL MEASURES

Cases of child sexual abuse require a multidisciplinary approach that includes medical, social services, law enforcement, and states attorney expertise.

MEDICATION

Empiric pro...

ONGOING CARE

FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATIONS

Patient Monitoring

Children should be screened for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and feelings of self-blame. Most children should be followed by a mental he...

ADDITIONAL READING

Adams JA, Kellogg ND, Moles R. Medical care for children who may have been sexually abused: an update for 2016. Clin Pediatr Emerg Med. 2016;17:255–263. [View Abstract on Ovid...

CODES

ICD9

995.53 Child sexual abuse

ICD10

T74.22XA Child sexual abuse, confirmed, initial encounter
T76.22XA Child sexual abuse, suspected, initial encounter

SNOMED

700229002 Victim of child sexual abuse ...

FAQ

Q: How could there have been penetration with a normal physical examination?
A: The vast majority of child sexual abuse exams are completely normal even with a history of penetration. The healing p...

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