Causes of a Fracture in a Child Other Than Physical Abuse

 

Conditions that can cause a fracture in a child:

(1) vaginal delivery (this should clear within a few weeks or months of birth)

(2) accidental trauma

(3) rickets

(4) copper deficiency

(5) congenital syphilis

(6) osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bones)

(7) osteomyelitis

(8) bone tumor or cyst

(9) osteopenia of infancy

(10) infantile cortical hyperostosis (Caffey's disease)

 

A child with one of these findings could also be abused, but the diagnosis would need to be substantiated based on other findings.