Giovanna Carmela Fabrizio

Child abuse and neglect: A review of the literature

Child maltreatment is a complex life experience occurs when a parent or caregiver does an intentional or potential damage to a child, including acts of commission and omission. Child abuse is not an uncommon event, but it is not always recognized. Identifying the real number of maltreated children is a challenge because of the large variability in reported prevalence data across studies. Unfortunately, in the United States, it affects 1 in 8 children, by the age of 18 years, annually. Paediatricians may encounter a variety of forms of maltreatment such as neglect, emotional, physical and sexual abuse. These aspects should be recognised, examined and evaluated by employing a systematic approach and focusing on basic needs of children that may not be met. Child maltreatment is a global problem with serious life-long physical and psychological or psychiatric outcomes. It is associated with important economic and social costs (such as physical and mental health, productivity losses, child welfare, criminal justice and special education costs) due to its high prevalence and its long-term and short-term consequences. In the United States, the average cost of nonfatal maltreatment is

Femicide and murdered women’s children: which future for these children orphans of a living parent?

210,012 per children and the cost of fatal maltreatment is

Enuresis and Punishment: The Adverse Effects on Child Development and on Treatment

1,272,900. General Practitioners are quite prepared to face the problem of child maltreatment: since they have the opportunity to meet several members of the same family, they can detect stressors that put children at risk of maltreatment. All health professionals have the responsibility to protect children from abuse and neglect.Child maltreatment is a complex life experience happening when a parent or caregiver does an intentional or potential damage to a child, including acts of commission and omission. Child abuse is not an uncommon event, but it is not always recognized. Identifying the real number of maltreated children is a challenge because of the large variability in reported prevalence data across studies. Unfortunately, in the United States, it affects 1 in 8 children, by the age of 18 years, annually. Paediatricians may encounter a variety of forms of maltreatment such as neglect, emotional, physical and sexual abuse. These aspects should be recognised, examined and evaluated by employing a systematic approach and focusing on basic need of children that may not be met. Child maltreatment is a global problem with serious life-long physical and psychological or psychiatric outcomes. It is associated with important economic and social costs (such as physical and mental health, productivity losses, child welfare, criminal justice and special education costs) due to its high prevalence and its long-term and short-term consequences. In the United States, the average cost of nonfatal maltreatment is

The Thin Line between Munchausen Syndrome and Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy

210,012 per children and the cost of fatal maltreatment is

Oral desmopressin lyophilisate (MELT) for monosymptomatic enuresis: Structured versus abrupt withdrawal

1,272,900. General Practitioners are quite prepared to face the problem of child maltreatment: since they have the opportunity to meet several members of the same family, they can detect stressors that put children at risk of maltreatment. All health professionals have the responsibility to protect children from abuse and neglect. Language: en

The Physical and Mental Health of Children in Foster Care

BackgroundTo assess the prevalence of femicides in Italy over the last three years and the potential long lasting effects of these traumatic events for the children of a woman who dies a violent death.MethodsThe data used in this study come from an internet search for the number of femicides occurring in Italy between 1st January, 2012 and 31st October, 2014.ResultsThe total number of femicides was 319; the average age of murdered women was 47.50 ± 19.26. Cold arms in the form of sharp object -mostly knives- have caused the death of 102/319 women; firearms were used in 87/319 cases; asphyxiation was the chosen method in 52/319 cases. About the place where the femicides occurred, 209/319 were committed inside the victim’s house. Children of women who died a violent death were 417 with a total of 180 minors in less than three years. A total of 52/417 children were witness to the killing and, among these 30/52 were minors; in 18/417 cases, children were murdered together with their mother and among these 9/18 were minors.ConclusionsLong-term studies are needed to ascertain what happens to these children, to understand what are the most appropriate psychological treatments, the best decisions about the contact with their father and the best placement for these children.

Five years of experience in nocturnal enuresis and urinary incontinence in children: where we are and where we are going.

Objective: To investigate the role of punishment in enuretic children and how the punishments can influence therapy response. Methods: We enrolled 218 enuretic children. The children and their families were asked to participate in the study at the end of the clinical evaluation. Results: The analysis of the questionnaires shows that at least one punishment because of nocturnal enuresis (NE) had been applied to 27 out of 218 (12.4%) children. Punishment methods were reprimanding in 19 out of 27 (70.4%), depriving of sleep in 11 out of 27 (40.7%), mildly beating in 3 out of 27 (11.1%), leaving the child wet in 1 out of 27 (3.7%) and other methods in 2 out of 27 (7.4%). In the group of punished children, a full or partial response in terms of a decreased number of wet nights was achieved in 40.7 vs. 59.2% in children who had not been punished. Conclusions: Parents should be sensitized on the adverse effects of punishment on child development. It is important in childcare to explain the definitions of the disorder and find the best treatment (behavioural and/or medicinal) depending on the single patient, his/her family and compliance of both. Successful management of NE has benefits to both the child and the family.

Intranasal drug administration for procedural sedation in children admitted to pediatric Emergency Room

Factitious disorders are the intentional production of feigning symptoms or disabilities; either physical or psychological. We report the case of a young girl, victim of Munchausen by proxy who became a Munchausen patient.