The Current Status, Prognosis, and Influencing Factors of Emergency Surgery in Patients With Facial Trauma in Intoxicated State

Background: Acute alcohol intoxication is linked to poor trauma outcomes, but its specific impact on emergency facial trauma surgery and the role of alcohol ingestion-surgery interval remain unclear. This study aimed to address these gaps. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted from December 2024 to July 2025, enrolling 84 patients requiring emergency surgery for facial trauma. Patients were divided into an observation group (n=42, intoxicated at admission) and a control group (n=42, nonintoxicated). Data on demographics, alcohol use, trauma details, surgical parameters [eg, Maxillofacial Injury Severity Score (MFISS), cooperation, duration, blood loss], and postoperative outcomes (early complications, wound healing, scar assessment at 6 mo) were collected. The observation group was further stratified by the interval from drinking to surgery (0–6, 6–12, and 12–24 h) for subgroup analysis. Results: Intoxicated patients had significantly higher MFISS scores, poorer intraoperative cooperation, longer operation times, and greater blood loss compared with controls (all P <0.05). The overall incidence of early complications (erythema and infection) was significantly higher in the observation group (23.81% versus 7.14%, P =0.034). Subgroup analysis revealed that patients undergoing surgery within 6 hours of alcohol ingestion had the highest complication rate (57.14%), significantly higher than the 6 to 12 hours subgroup (16.13%, P <0.05), with no complications in the 12 to 24 hours subgroup. No significant intergroup differences were found in final wound healing grade, suture removal time, or 6-month Vancouver Scar Scale scores. Conclusion: Acute alcohol intoxication adversely affects emergency facial trauma surgery, especially if surgery is within 6 hours of ingestion. For stable patients, delaying surgery to ≥6 hours post-ingestion and preoperative alcohol screening are recommended.