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The relationship between head injury and facial trauma: a case–control study

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Abstract

Introduction

In spite of anatomic proximity of the facial skeleton and cranium, there is paucity of information in the literature regarding the relationship between head injuries and facial trauma. The objective of our investigation was to evaluate the pattern of head injuries in patients with maxillofacial trauma, and to study their relationship.

Material and methods

We evaluated 2,692 patients with maxillofacial trauma admitted to the Besat hospital, Hamedan, Iran between 2007 and 2010. Patients with associated head injury (302 cases; study group) were compared with those without head injury (2,390 cases; control group).

Results

In our cohort, the rate of head injuries associated with facial bone fractures was 23.3 %. The most common associated head injury was concussion, followed by cerebral contusion and skull fractures. In the unadjusted analysis, motorcycle and car accidents were significantly more frequent in the study group, while stumbling, sports injuries, and work-related injuries were significantly more common in the control group (p < 0.001). Except for Lefort III fractures which was not significantly different between groups, all facial fractures occurred more frequently in the study group (p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that motorcycle accidents (211-fold), car accidents (139-fold), violence (69-fold), falls (66-fold), frontal sinus fractures (84.5-fold), and Lefort II fractures (27-fold) were the strongest predictors of head injuries.

Discussion

Present study revealed that fracture of facial bones, especially bones that are in anatomic proximity to the cranium and need a high magnitude of trauma energy to be fractured, was marker for an increased risk of head injuries.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Dental Research Center, Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, Hamedan, Iran.

Conflict of interest

None declared.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Fahmideh street, Hamedan, Iran

    Mohammad Zandi & Seyed Rohallah Seyed Hoseini

  2. Dental Research Center, Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, Hamedan, Iran

    Mohammad Zandi

Authors
  1. Mohammad Zandi
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  2. Seyed Rohallah Seyed Hoseini
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Correspondence to Mohammad Zandi.

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Zandi, M., Seyed Hoseini, S.R. The relationship between head injury and facial trauma: a case–control study. Oral Maxillofac Surg 17, 201–207 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10006-012-0368-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10006-012-0368-z

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