Traumatic Facial Fractures in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

This study showed a retrospective analysis of the incidence and pattern of traumatic facial fractures in a pediatric and adolescent population ( 18 years old) in China. The authors retrospectively reviewed 154 children and adolescent who had traumatic facial fractures and who were admitted to our university-affiliated hospitals from 2005 to 2010. This study enrolled 109 males and 45 females aged 11.9 AE 5.2 years old. The incidence peaked around the periods of 12 to 18 years in the male, 6 and 16 to 18 years in the female. The most common etiologies were motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) (60, 39.0%), followed by high fall (40, 26.0%), low fall (32, 20.8%). The most common fracture sites were mandible (78, 50.6%) and nose (33, 21.4%), followed by orbit (31, 20.1%). A total of 35 (22.7%) patients suffered neurological deficit. The patients in the 12 to 18 age range group accounted for the largest proportion of 54.5%. Fracture incidence showed peaks between the hours of 12:00 to 16:00 PM (33.7%), during the autumn season (30.5%) and on Friday to Sunday (50.0%). The most common etiology and fracture site were MVCs and mandible, respectively. Etiologies and patterns of traumatic facial fractures vary with age. Continued efforts toward injury prevention of traumatic facial fracture among the children and adolescents are warranted.

Characteristics and age‐related injury patterns of maxillofacial fractures in children and adolescents: A multicentric and prospective study

“…Patients suffering trauma from RTA had the highest median age among the causes of trauma, with 68% of all RTA‐related fractures in the adolescent group (Table 1). In addition, RTA was the main cause of maxillofacial paediatric fractures in all African and Asian centres, ranging from 42% to 69% (Table 2), in agreement with several studies 11,13,27,36–38 . As reported previously, a reason for the high rate of this type of injury in developing countries may be the widespread use of motorcycles and badly maintained roads, but most importantly the lack of enforcement and implementation of road rules and policies 37 .…”

“…In addition, RTA was the main cause of maxillofacial paediatric fractures in all African and Asian centres, ranging from 42% to 69% (Table 2 ), in agreement with several studies. 11 , 13 , 27 , 36 , 37 , 38 As reported previously, a reason for the high rate of this type of injury in developing countries may be the widespread use of motorcycles and badly maintained roads, but most importantly the lack of enforcement and implementation of road rules and policies. 37 In contrast, lower incidences of RTA‐related fractures in developed countries are related to the strict application of safety policies, including the mandatory use of seatbelts, motorcycle helmets and child restraints.…”

Characteristics of Facial Fractures in Critically Injured Children

“…The high prevalence of skull, orbital, and midface fractures in the ICU group are likely due to the high-impact mechanism of injury documented in patients presenting with these fractures. [10][11][12][13] Conversely, the lower proportion of mandibular fracture patients admitted to the ICU may be due to anatomic factors, such as location lower in the face and wide range of presentations (eg, isolated condylar fracture vs bilaterally displaced ramus fractures). While patients with mandibular fractures had high rates of musculoskeletal (44.7%), respiratory (36.2%), dental (25.5%), and ophthalmologic injuries (23.4%), they may have a wider range of severity, with less severe mandibular fractures occurring more frequently.…”

Paediatric Burns From Deployment of a Concealed Aviation Seatbelt Airbag

“…The expansion speed of 200-300 km/hour can exert mechanical forces on contact with the passenger resulting in friction-abrasion injuries. Most of these burns require conservative management and heal quickly [12] without leaving scars, however, in some cases scars are persistent [14,17,18].…”