An overview of the prevalence and pattern of maxillofacial trauma in the south of Iran

The purpose of the current study is to determine the prevalence and pattern of maxillofacial trauma. This is a cross sectional study of maxillofacial trauma cases treated in the referral trauma center of south of Iran. Data of 264 patients were extracted from patients’ records and analyzed. Data included patient’s demographics, injury mechanism, types of maxillofacial injuries, Injury Severity Score (ISS), associated injuries, length of hospital stay and outcome. Binary logistic regression by backward method was applied to determine the effects of independent variables on mortality odds ratio. 85.23% of patients were males and of all patients 87.5% survived. The mean of age was 34.95 ± 16.51. The commonest cause of maxillofacial injury was road traffic accidents (86.31%). The median of ISS was 20.39± 10.24 and patients aged 30-39 years had the highest ISS. Overall, the most common maxillofacial injuries were orbital (59.47%, n=157) followed by maxillary (48.11%, n=127); common associated injuries were related to head (81.44%, n=215) followed by thorax (58.33%, n=154). Age and gender (being male) increased the odds ratio of mortality. An increase in ISS decreased the odds ratio of mortality, but it was not significant. Most of maxillofacial trauma patients suffered from orbital injuries and there were a huge percentage of associated injuries. Gender (male), age and length of hospital stay were the significant variables of mortality in maxillofacial patients. The findings of the current study sheds light on further investigation to treat these patients and enforce road traffic legislation and public education to prevent these traumas.