Maxillofacial injuries in patients with major trauma

Major trauma is an important cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Mortality is high with rates over 10% commonly reported. We studied the epidemiology and aetiology of maxillofacial injuries in patients who presented with major trauma as recorded nationally by retrospectively analysing the database of the Trauma Audit Research Network from 2001 to 2015. All patients who had major trauma with associated maxillofacial injuries were included in the analysis. Of 104 645 patients recorded as having had major trauma during the study period, 22 148 (21.2%) had an associated maxillofacial injury. Most of them were male (74.2%), and the type of injury was usually blunt (97.5%). Road traffic collisions were the most common mechanism (44.1%), followed by falls of less than 2 m (21.6%). An associated serious head injury was more common in those who had a facial injury (81% compared with 60.6%, p < 0.0001). Nearly all the facial injuries (94%) were minor, or moderately severe. Maxillofacial injuries commonly present with major trauma but are rarely severe. A maxillofacial injury may indicate an increased likelihood of an associated head injury.