Child abuse--we must increase our level of suspicion.

CHILD abuse is often obvious. Occasionally, however its manifestations are not recognised or are easily overlooked. This paper describes three children to whom there was serious child abuse and in each there was a variable degree of diagnostic difficulty. The case reports are presented and comments offered which may help in the recognition and management of future cases. Several common adverse factors are referred to, the recognition of which may help to increase our suspicion of child abuse presenting with similar bizarre syndromes.