Chest wall bruising from 5‐point car seat harness as a mimicker of child abuse

Abstract

AbstractBruising rarely presents in infants younger than 9 months who are not ambulatory and is more prevalent among children beginning to walk, or “cruisers.” We present the case of a healthy 3‐month‐old infant with asymptomatic, symmetric, bilateral, large bruises on the bony chest sparing the mid‐chest/sternum with a negative non‐accidental trauma work‐up. The noted pattern of bruises matched the bilateral shoulder straps of a 5‐point harness of the car seat belt designed for infants. Awareness of this unique pattern of bruises will help elicit a better‐informed history to guide care in an appropriate setting.