Schönlein-Henoch Purpura Misdiagnosed as Suspected Child Abuse

IN 1962, Kempe and his associates1published their classic work, "The Battered Child Syndrome," inThe Journal. Since then, the awareness and sensitivity of both the medical profession and lay community to the problem of child abuse have increased. Every year, more than 1 million children in the United States are seriously abused by their parents, guardians, or others, and between 2000 and 5000 children die as a result of their injuries.2,3 Cutaneous lesions are, by far, the most common presenting physical findings of child abuse.4Several articles and reviews,4-7including diagnostic guidelines recently published inJAMA,8have documented the most common manifestations of lesions that result from nonaccidental trauma and injury. Unfortunately, typical or atypical presentations of skin disorders, not resulting from trauma or injury, can be misdiagnosed as suspected child abuse. We report a case as an example. Report of a Case An