Oral and maxillofacial trauma caused by road traffic accident in two university hospitals in Malaysia: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundMaxillofacial injuries are one of the most common injuries among the road traffic accident (RTA) cases in Malaysia. The aim of this present study was to compare the pattern of maxillofacial injuries, severity and risk factors in two university hospitals in Peninsular Malaysia. The predictors of maxillofacial fractures were also quantified.Study designThis is a prospective cross-sectional study conducted in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) and Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) from July 2010 to June 2011. Information related to demographics, socioeconomics, injury site and severity together with hospitalisation details were collected for analysis.ResultsA total of 278 maxillofacial patients were included in this study. Majority of the patients were single young Malay males with low socioeconomic status. Mid-facial fractures were more common than mandibular fractures in both hospitals. Among the concomitant injuries, orthopaedic injuries were shown to be the commonest in both hospitals. Most of these patients had mild Injury Severity Score (ISS).The final predictors for facial fractures in UKMMC were gender and the ISS while age group, gender, type of combined injuries and the ISS were shown for HUSM.ConclusionsMidfacial fractures were the most common maxillofacial fractures in both hospitals. HUSM patients showed more severe injury patterns compared to UKMMC patients. Significant predictors for facial fractures were the Injury Severity Score for UKMMC while age, gender and type of combined injuries were shown for HUSM.