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Fundus exams can help identify cause of apparent life-threatening events in infants

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Funduscopic examinations can help identify the cause of an apparent life-threatening event in infants, according to a study by researchers in New York. Specifically, the presence of retinal hemorrhaging in such children "strongly suggests" the possibility of shaken baby syndrome, the authors noted.

Robin L. Altman, MD, and colleagues at New York Medical College and Westchester Medical Center reviewed ophthalmologic findings from a series of 120 infants who received eye examinations after an apparent life-threatening event. Such an event is defined as a breathing abnormality, color change, or alteration in muscle tone or mental status, according to the study.

The researchers found that 10 patients (8.3%) had positive findings. Of these 10 patients, retinal hemorrhages were present in four of six patients with shaken baby syndrome, "the only ophthalmologic finding that helped establish the cause of an [apparent life-threatening event]," the authors reported.

The study is published in the July-August issue of European Journal of Ophthalmology.