Shaken baby syndrome and the risk of losing scientific scrutiny

Abstract

A systematic review of shaken baby syndrome by the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services generated numerous reactions from professional organisations, even before the review was published. There was also a lively debate after a paper summarising its findings were published in Acta Paediatrica The various responses are worth debating further, as they raise several important issues with regard to research ethics, having an open debate and publishing scientific findings.

Conclusion: The responses to the shaken baby syndrome report indicate that scientific scrutiny risks being lost when researchers and organisations are not open to challenging established ideas.

Keywords: Ethics; Paradigm; Shaken baby syndrome; Systematic review; Triad.