2025 Scholars' Research Symposium Abstract: The Relationship Between Bony Fractures and Child Abuse in Rural Pediatric Population.

This study highlights the correlation between injury patterns of physically abused pediatric patients in the rural population. Younger patients with bone fractures were more likely to be abused compared to those with accidental injuries. Inconsistent or undocumented mechanisms of injury were also more common in abuse cases. These findings suggest younger patients with bone fractures or an unknown mechanism should be extensively evaluated for child abuse. Skeletal surveys remain paramount to investigating abuse, with many additional bone fractures secondary to abuse being identified with this method. These findings underscore the importance of thorough documentation, examination, and use of skeletal surveys in patients less than twelve months old with bone fractures.