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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Orthopedics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1484920

Femoral Fractures in Nonaccidental Trauma and Child Abuse: Biomechanical Perspectives and Insights

Provisionally accepted
Giorgio Di Laura Frattura Giorgio Di Laura Frattura *Blaise Cochard Blaise Cochard Giacomo De Marco Giacomo De Marco Oscar Vazquez Oscar Vazquez Gerlado De Coulon Gerlado De Coulon Christina Steiger Christina Steiger Romain Dayer Romain Dayer Dimitri Ceroni Dimitri Ceroni
  • Pediatric Orthopedics Unit, Pediatric Surgery Service, University Hospitals of Geneva, Genève, Switzerland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Physical abuse remains a global problem that affects children in every country, from every ethnic group, and of all social backgrounds. The fracture of an infant's femur should constitute a red flag to a pediatrician; it must be recognized, recorded, investigated, and potentially result in measures to protect that child. Certain confounding factors, such as the reported mechanism of trauma, could negatively influence the physician's appropriate and unbiased judgment. Indeed, some physically abusive parents may try to explain a femoral fracture as the result of an accidental fall from a changing table or the child's leg getting stuck in bed barriers. This narrative review aimed to provide an overview of this topic and discuss the currently available scientific evidence to better understand the biomechanical mechanisms of femur fractures in infants, thereby definitively putting an end to some popular misconceptions.

    Keywords: Femoral fracture in childhood, Non accidental injury, Biomechancis, Child Abuse, Femoral fracture

    Received: 22 Aug 2024; Accepted: 03 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Di Laura Frattura, Cochard, De Marco, Vazquez, De Coulon, Steiger, Dayer and Ceroni. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Giorgio Di Laura Frattura, Pediatric Orthopedics Unit, Pediatric Surgery Service, University Hospitals of Geneva, Genève, Switzerland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.