Epidemiology of maxillofacial fractures in northwest China: an 11-year retrospective study of 2240 patients

Abstract

Background The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological pattern of maxillofacial fractures in northwestern China by retrospectively analysing the demographics, aetiologies, concomitant injuries, fracture sites, and management. Methods A 10-year retrospective analysis of 2240 patients with maxillofacial fractures admitted to the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University was conducted. The extracted data included sex, age, aetiology, fracture site, concomitant injuries, time of treatment, therapeutic approaches and complications. Statistical analyses were performed, including descriptive analysis and the chi-square test. Logistic regression was used to determine the impact factors of maxillofacial fractures and concomitant injuries. P values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results The age of the included patients ranged from 1 to 85 years, and the mean age was 35.88 ± 15.69 years. The male-to-female ratio was 3.9:1. The most frequent aetiology of maxillofacial fractures was road traffic accidents (RTAs) (56.3%), and the most common fracture sites were the anterior wall of the maxillary sinus, arcus zygomaticus and mandibular body. A total of 1147 patients (51.2%) were affected by concomitant injuries, with craniocerebral injury being the most common. Logistic regression analyses revealed increased risks of mid-facial fractures in elderly individuals (odds ratio (OR) = 1.029, P < 0.001) and females (OR = 0.719, P = 0.005). Younger patients had a higher risk of mandibular fractures (OR = 0.973, P < 0.001). RTAs increased the risk for mid-facial fractures and high falls increased the risk for mandibular fractures. Conclusions The maxillofacial fracture pattern is correlated with sex, age and aetiology. Patients were mainly young and middle-aged males, and the main cause of injury was RTAs, mostly causing compound fractures. Medical staff must be systematically educated to comprehensively examine patients with injuries resulting from RTAs. The management of patients with fractures requires thorough consideration of the patient’s age, aetiology, fracture site, and concomitant injuries.

Dynamic Trends in Surgical Oromaxillofacial Trauma Epidemiology: A Comparative Study of Pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 Periods in Tertiary Referral Hospitals in Madrid

“…In the postpandemic period, various studies have found that health professionals reduced their protective measures [38] due to burnout or psychological reasons, among others. The most recently published articles that studied the influence of COVID-19 on the epidemiology of maxillofacial fractures concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic has produced a change in the epidemiology of oromaxillofacial fractures [43][44][45][46][47][48][49], but the differences observed are specific in each study because the etiology is very diverse and characteristic of the different countries and regions studied. New etiologies have been described, such as the use of electric scooters [50,51], which are producing changes in modes of transportation within cities and even regulatory changes promoting the use of protection measures [52].…”

Factors influencing traumatic brain injuries in maxillofacial fractures: A 12‐year retrospective analysis of 2841 patients

“…TBIs are frequently concomitant with maxillofacial fractures (MFs) due to the close anatomical proximity of the skull and facial bones 5–7 . Our earlier study revealed that TBIs were the most common concomitant injuries accompanying MFs 8 . Facial injuries have been demonstrated to increase the risk for TBIs 6,9 ; therefore, early detection of TBI is critical to minimise morbidity and mortality and improve the prognosis of individuals who experience MFs 7 .…”

“…Previously, we retrospectively analysed the epidemiology of MFs in north‐western China, and the relevant findings have been published 8 . The published research regarding traumatic craniofacial injuries, which are crucial in the treatment and prognosis of MFs, has not been thoroughly analysed.…”