Humeral fracture in non-ambulant infants - a possible accidental mechanism

Humeral fracture in a non-ambulant infant younger than 1 year is suspicious for a non-accidental injury unless there is a credible accidental explanation. A previously unrecognised accidental mechanism was described in 1996 whereby a 5-month-old infant was rolled by a 3-year-old sibling from a prone to a supine position. To investigate the widely accepted view that an infant with limited mobility cannot sustain a fracture of the humerus by his or her own actions in the absence of the intervention of an external party. We present seven cases of non-ambulant infants between 4 and 7 months of age in whom an isolated humeral fracture was the only injury present. In each case the caregiver described the fracture occurring when the child rolled over, trapping the dependent arm, without the intervention of another party. There is no proof for this mechanism in the form of an independent witness or video recording. However, we propose that this mechanism is worthy of further consideration as a rare and unusual cause for the injury. Further study is required. (orig.)