RAPE - A COMPLEX MANAGEMENT PROBLEM IN PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY ROOM

Insufficient attention has been paid to the difficult problem of dealing in the emergency room with child victims of alleged rape. The authors, who are child psychiatrists, consulted to the pediatric emergency room on 9 cases. The presenting complaint of alleged rape did not in itself constitute a diagnosis or thereby imply a specific medical treatment, such as a pelvic examination. Complex factors presented by the patient, the police, the family, and the hospital itself interfered with the physician's efforts at making an adequate diagnosis and formulating an appropriate treatment plan. By elucidating these factors and considering them, the physician can be in a position to manage the case in the patient's best interest. © 1969 The C. V. Mosby Company.