Suspected abusive head trauma in children - when do they really need to be transferred to a neurosurgical unit?

Objectives: Transferring paediatric patients with suspected abusive head trauma (AHT) to paediatric neurosurgical centres, disrupts safeguarding investigations. Therefore, it is desirable that suspected AHTs are transferred only when clinically necessary. The aim of this study was to describe referral patterns of patients referred to a tertiary paediatric neurosurgical centre with suspected AHT, with the view of informing future transfer of AHT patients.