Injury Evaluation
It is a standard of care in an Emergency Department to screen every patient for injuries and bruising.
Why do we screen for injuries?
At Seattle Children’s, your child’s safety and well-being are our top priorities. We take any injury on a child seriously. Evidence shows that certain types of injury or bruising are often signs of other less obvious injuries. For this reason, we screen every child for injuries and bruising, and assess for the medical and traumatic causes of those injuries.
What is an injury evaluation and why do we do it?
If a child has certain types of injuries or bruising, we do a detailed check-up called an injury evaluation. This includes talking with specialists and doing a standard set of medical tests to understand the child’s injuries. We look at your child from head to toe to make sure we find and treat all injuries.
When do we complete an injury evaluation?
We have a set of objective guidelines that we use to determine when a child needs an injury evaluation. These are some of the reasons we start an injury evaluation:
- Bruises are on the torso, ears, face and neck
- Injuries or bruises have certain patterns
- Injury or bruises on an infant under 6 months
- Any injury that looks serious or like it might be from trauma
What happens during an injury evaluation?
We do a medical exam to see if the injury was caused by something other than an accident (non-accidental injury). Depending on your child’s age and injuries, the exam may include:
- Talking with a hospital social worker and other specialists
- X-rays of your child’s body from head to toe (bone survey)
- Blood draw
- Head CT Scan
- Photos of your child’s injury or bruises
For more information about the tests done during an injury evaluation, see these handouts:
- “Skeletal Survey” seattlechildrens.org/pdf/PE2168.pdf
- “CT Scan” seattlechildrens.org/pdf/PE015.pdf
- “Radiation Exposure” seattlechildrens.org/pdf/PE1128.pdf
We know that an injury evaluation can be scary and hard.
We are here to support you and your child through this process.
Let your care team know if you have questions or concerns at any time.
To Learn More
- Ask your child's healthcare provider
- seattlechildrens.org/patient-education
Free Interpreter Services
- In the hospital, ask your nurse.
- From outside the hospital, call the toll-free Family Interpreting Line, 1-866-583-1527. Tell the interpreter the name or extension you need.
