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A prospective computed tomography study of maxillofacial injuries in patients with head injury

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European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Road traffic accidents (RTA) are one of the foremost causes of head injuries and its prevalence is more in developing countries owing to its unorganised road utilisation system. Maxillofacial injuries occur in 5–33% of all trauma cases universally and are commonly associated with head injury (HI).

Aim and objectives

The purpose of this prospective study is to determine the incidence and pattern of facial fractures in head injury patients and to evaluate the relationship between them. Does the midface acts as a cushion to the brain when subjected to trauma?

Materials and methods

Hospital records of 500 consecutive patients admitted with head injury in a Tertiary Health Care Centre (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences) in Bangalore between March and June 2015 were included in the study.

Results

Out of the total of 500 patients, the overall incidence of maxillofacial fractures among head injury patients was found to be 8.6%. Out of the 43 cases of maxillofacial involvement, the most commonly fractured facial bone was the maxilla (5.4%). All the cases of maxillofacial fractures due to RTA involved two-wheel vehicles and none of those cases had helmet protection at the time of the incident. 4.4% of study participants had sustained maxillofacial injuries while under the influence of alcohol.

Conclusion

In our study of head injury patients, the most common aetiology of maxillofacial fractures was found to be RTA with drivers being most affected. Alcohol intoxication and lack of helmet protection played a significant role in causing maxillofacial fractures. We concluded that maxillofacial fractures are closely related to head injury especially in cases of RTA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Bangalore, India

    S. Girish Rao, Roshan Cherian Paramesh & Aseem Bansal

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India

    Dhaval Shukla & Nishanth Sadashiva

  3. Department of Neuroradiology, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India

    Jitender Saini

Authors
  1. S. Girish Rao
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  2. Roshan Cherian Paramesh
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  3. Aseem Bansal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roshan Cherian Paramesh.

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Conflict of interest

Authors Dr. S Girish Rao, Dr. Roshan Cherian Paramesh, Dr. Aseem Bansal, Dr. Dhaval Shukla, Dr. Nishanth Sadashiva, Dr. Jitender Saini declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Research involving human participants and/or animals

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Rao, S.G., Paramesh, R.C., Bansal, A. et al. A prospective computed tomography study of maxillofacial injuries in patients with head injury. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg 48, 2529–2538 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-019-01099-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-019-01099-0

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