Quality of life after management of mid-face fractures at tertiary care hospital in adults: A longitudinal analysis

Maxillofacial injuries are a serious public health and economic problem (1). The prolonged time spent in the hospital during their treatment can be expensive. They are also often associated with severe morbidity and disfigurement, especially in the complex midface region which can have a detrimental effect on their psychological well-being. After approval of ethics committee, patients with midfacial trauma and their responses were recorded on standardized OHIP for different domains. As an inclusion criterion, individual aged 18 to 60 years, with midfacial trauma and available to answer the telephone interview were included. OHRQoL was assessed using the short and translated version, OHIP-14. Our study sample comprised of a predominantly male sample with 89.1% males and 10.9% females. Table I shows the descriptive statistics for our study sample. The results of simple linear regression anlysis are described in Table II. The mean total Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) score was 4.82 (2.94, 5.82). The OHIP 14 score was not significantly associated with age and gender. The OHRQoL is significantly associated with IMF + Boneplating, indicating a greater score of OHIP-14. RTA and Falls were significant causes associated with a lower OHIP score. Table III descibes the association of different OHIP domains with the variables studied. There is a significant decrease in the OHIP score for functional limitation when the cause of the trauma is fall. Psychological discomfort, physical disability and social disability all are significantly associated with IMF and bone plating as the fixation option. Maxillofacial trauma especially to the midface causes significant morbidity according to the present OHIP scores. Lower scores of OHIP 14 were significantly associated with IMF when done with bone plating.