Prevalence of maxillofacial trauma in a reference hospital in the Dominican Republic

Introduction: Maxillofacial trauma occurs frequently because the face is anatomically exposed, and its bones are fragile. Therefore, understanding the frequency and distribution of facial fracture cases in a population can help establish research priorities for the effective treatment and prevention of these injuries. Objectives: This study aimed to carry out a survey of data contained in the medical records of patients with maxillofacial trauma at the Hospital Docente Universitário Dr. Dario Contreras between 2014 and 2019. Methodology: This is a Descriptive retrospective epidemiological study. In this way, we look for: Identify the type of fracture prevalent in this city, the main etiology and most affected gender and age group. The sample was composed of 6,525 medical records of patients affected by facial trauma were found. The data collected included: age, gender, etiology, anatomical site, and form of treatment. After collecting the data, they were organized and tabulated in an Excel spreadsheet for Windows. The incidence of etiologies was analyzed and correlated with the gender of affected patients. The incidence of fractures was also evaluated according to their anatomical location, and then correlated with the type of treatment. Descriptive Statistics was then performed, with the objective of showing a global view of the prevalence of the collected data, showing its distribution through graphs and tables. Results: The study consisted of 6229 individuals with maxillofacial trauma. Males had the highest incidence (73.69%) in the third decade of life. The main etiologies were traffic accidents (61.59%), followed by aggression (22.62%). Of the total fractures, 70.20% were in the middle third of the face, with the zygomatic bone and nasal bones being the most affected regions. In the mandible, the regions mainly affected were the body and the angle. As for treatment, open reduction and rigid internal fixation represented the form of treatment for most patients. Conclusion: It can be concluded that zygomatic bone fractures were the most prevalent facial fractures in the group of individuals studied, having mainly affected men in the third decade of life, victims of traffic accidents, treated mainly with open reduction and stable internal fixation.