Medical experts have cast further doubt on the diagnosis of “shaken baby syndrome”, which is often cited as evidence of child abuse, writes Craig Kenny.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, doctors argued that bleeding from the eyes alone is not sufficient evidence to conclude that a child has been shaken hard – contrary to recent opinion.

A paper by the American pathologist Dr Patrick Lantz cites the case of a 14-month-old baby who died after a television fell on his head. There was retinal bleeding and evidence of an accident was ignored. His older brother was wrongly taken into care.

Violent shaking should be indicated only when there is damage and bleeding in the brain along with retinal bleeding, writes Brian Harding, a neuropathologist from Great Ormond Street Hospital. Damage to the neck or spinal cord and gripping injuries would give further confirmation.

Relevant links to British Medical Journal:

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7442/719
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7442/720
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/bmj;328/7442/754