Maxillofacial Trauma and COVID-19: A Review of the First 6 Months of the Pandemic.

Study design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in late December 2019 has spread globally resulting in a pandemic of respiratory illness. The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic on the epidemiology of maxillofacial trauma at an urban trauma center.

Methods: The study sample was derived from the population of patients who presented for evaluation and management of maxillofacial injuries at TriStar Skyline Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee beginning March 1, 2020 and ending August 31, 2020, compared to the same period in 2019. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were calculated for study variables in each cohort with significance set at P < .05.

Results: The number of subjects in the 2020 cohort (n = 212) was 4.2% higher than the 2019 cohort (n = 203). Volume decreased 24.5% during the initial phase of the pandemic with a 36.1% increase in volume occurring during the reopening phase (P = .003). Volume related to interpersonal decreased 52.4% during the initial phase of the pandemic with a rebound increase of 30% during reopening (P = .005).

Conclusion: The first case of COVID-19 presented in Nashville, Tennessee in early March 2020. Over the next 6 months, periods of lockdown and reopening transpired. The volume of maxillofacial trauma decreased during the initial 3-months of the pandemic and rebounded to volumes greater than the year prior.