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Cohort studyJournal of pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus · 2026

Long-term Visual Sequelae of Shaken Baby Syndrome: A Retrospective Study of 52 Cases.

Emilie Boulert, Sabine Defoort-Dhellemmes, Damien Wargnez … Isabelle Drumare

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OphthalmologyCohort study

Half of shaken baby syndrome survivors had macular damage detectable years later.

Long-term Visual Sequelae of Shaken Baby Syndrome: A Retrospective Study of 52 Cases.

Emilie Boulert … Isabelle Drumare

Journal of pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus · 2026

Purpose

To perform a clinical descriptive analysis of the long-term ophthalmological sequelae present in shaken baby syndrome and to evaluate a possible correlation between the grade of initial retinal hemorrhage at diagnosis and the severity of ophthalmological sequelae at school age and whether there was an association between the resorption time of initial retinal hemorrhages and ophthalmological sequelae.

Methods

Fifty-two children aged 5 to 11 years with retinal hemorrhages and confirmed shaking injury were included.

Results

half showed lasting eye damage on detailed retina imaging

50%

Macular impairment

42.3%

Amblyopia

42%

Strabismus

40%

Fundus abnormality

More results

Children had significantly more ophthalmological sequelae if the retinal hemorrhages were grade 3 according to the 2011 Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) classification (French classification of retinal hemorrhages based on their number and topography).

More results

The longer the retinal hemorrhage resorption time, the more significant the ophthalmological sequelae appeared to be.

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

Shaken baby syndrome is responsible for numerous ophthalmological sequelae. Some are irreversible (epiretinal membrane), whereas others are reversible and can be rehabilitated (amblyopia).

Conclusion · 2 of 2

Detecting ophthalmological sequelae is important to monitor for complications that may arise and also contributes to the child's integration into society.

Post

Long-term Visual Sequelae of Shaken Baby Syndrome: A Retrospective Study of 52 Cases.

Half of shaken baby syndrome survivors had macular damage detectable years later.

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