Vaginal foreign bodies and child sexual abuse: An important consideration

Abstract

Vaginal foreign bodies are a complaint occasionally encountered in pediatric clinics and emergency departments, and when pediatric patients present with a vaginal foreign body sexual abuse may not be considered. We describe two children with vaginal foreign bodies who were found to have been sexually abused. Each child had a discharge positive for a sexually transmitted infection despite no disclosure or allegation of abuse. We recommend that all pre-pubertal girls who present with a vaginal foreign body should be considered as possible victims of sexual abuse and should receive a sexual abuse history and testing for sexually transmitted infections.