An epidemiologic survey of maxillofacial fractures and concomitant injuries in Kaduna, Nigeria

Background : There is an upward trend in facial injuries following changes in population pattern, increasing industrialization and urbanization, hence maxillofacial trauma is becoming a burden and a leading medical problem in emergency rooms worldwide. Method : A retrospective study of patients with maxillofacial fractures seen and treated at the Oral and Maxillofacial Unit, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Kaduna, Nigeria between January 1993 to January 2003. Data extracted from the patients' records include aetiology, age, sex, types and sites of fractures, treatment modality and concomitant injuries. Results : There were 820 fractures of the maxillofacial skeleton and 70 concomitant injuries from 543 patients. Road traffic accident (50.8%) was the most common aetiologic factor, followed by falls (22.3%) and fights (18.8%). The age range was from 3½ years to 67 years (mean=39.7) with a peak incidence in the 4 th decade (n=197, 36.3%) with a male–female sex ratio of 3.7:1. The most common location of maxillofacial fractures was the mandible 615(75%) and middle third 205(25%). There were 316(58.2%) isolated mandibular fracture, 124(22.8%) isolated middle third fractures and 65(12%) combined mandibular and middle third fractures. Majority of the patients were treated by closed reduction. Concomitant injuries were 8.5% with orthopaedic injuries accounting for the majority (67.10%). Conclusion : Maxillofacial fractures are on the increase. We advocate the establishment of regionalized trauma centers. Keywords : Maxillofacial, trauma, aetiology, concomitant Nigerian Journal of Surgical Research Vol. 7(3&4) 2005: 251-255