Physical and sexual abuse of children

Children and adolescent victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and/or neglectmay initially present to an emergency department or primary care office. The patient– health care provider encounter may have significant emotional, legal, forensic, and medical implications for a child/adolescent and his/her family. In general, the emergency department setting is not ideal for the comprehensive,multidisciplinary assessment of the child/adolescentwhomayhavebeen abused.Whenever andwherever possible, a coordinated, protocol-based collaboration between an emergency department and the nearest child advocacy center or program is recommended. Nonetheless, the emergency department provider should have a thorough understanding of the detection, triage, management, documentation, and treatment of the maltreated child or adolescent.