Maxillofacial Trauma in the Emergency Service of General Calixto García University Hospital. 2016-2017

Abstract

Introduction: The maxillofacial region is vulnerable to injuries. In Cuba, few studies related to urgent care services have been carried out in maxillofacial traumatology, which led to an increase of motivation to conduct this research. 

Objective: To characterize maxillofacial trauma from a clinical and epidemiological point of view in patients treated in General Calixto García Hospital from June 2016 to June 2017. 

Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with the universe of patients (2412 ones) that were treated in the Emergency Service of General Calixto García University Hospital with the diagnosis of maxillofacial trauma from June 2016 to June 2017. The variables used were: age groups, sex, etiological factor, type of injury, and therapeutic behavior. 

Results: In the study, the patients aged between 19 and 30 years represented 41.0 %; the male sex 69.0%; and the traffic accidents 34.6 %. The most frequent hard tissue injuries were nasal fractures (13.9 %); and the soft tissue injuries were purely integumentary wounds (82.1 %). Bandage placement was used in 89.1%, and wound suture in 84.1 %.

Conclusions: The behavior of the maxillofacial trauma in the Emergency Service of General Calixto García University Hospital, showed that it predominates in men of middle age due to traffic accidents. Soft tissue injuries were the predominant type of injuries, among them, the purely integumentary wounds. The conservative behavior in its modality of bandage placement was the most commonly used.

Keywords:  Maxillofacial injury, facial injury, dental injuries, oral surgery, Le Fort fractures, maxillofacial surgery, facial bone fractures, soft tissue injuries, treatment of fractures.