Interpersonal Violence � The Leading Cause of Maxillofacial Fractures

Blair S York, Kimberley N Sent-Doux, Jaewon Heo, Mikayla Barnett, Reginald W Marsh, Craig A MacKinnon and Swee T Tan

Maxillofacial & Burns Unit, Hutt Hospital, New Zealand
Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, New Zealand
University of Auckland, New Zealand

^*Correspondance to: Swee T Tan 

 PDF  Full Text DOI: 10.25107/2474-1647.2417

Abstract

Purpose: Accident Compensation Corporation statistics show maxillofacial fracture affects 11000 people with an approximate $90 million annual cost in New Zealand (NZ). Previous studies have demonstrated Inter Personal Violence (IPV), Road Traffic Accidents (RTA), sports injury and falls being the common causes of maxillofacial fracture. This study investigated the causes and associated alcohol and/or drug use, and fracture patterns in patients presenting with maxillofacial fractures in the Wellington region.
Methodology: Demographic data of the patients, the cause of maxillofacial fracture and associated alcohol and/or drug use, and the fracture patterns were culled from our prospective maxillofacial fracture database at Hutt Hospital for a 5-year period from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2017, and analyzed.
Results: 1535 patients were referred with maxillofacial fractures during the study period. 38% of the maxillofacial fractures were caused by IPV, followed by sports injury (24%), falls (24%) and RTA (6%), with 33.4% associated with alcohol and/or drug use. Males were six times more likely to present with IPV-related maxillofacial fractures, compared to females. The 16-30 age group was most prevalent in the IPV group with NZ Maori attributing to significantly more maxillofacial fractures compared to NZ European, 54.6% vs. 32.0% (p<0.0001).
Conclusion: IPV, especially involving alcohol and/or drug use, is the most common cause of maxillofacial fractures in the Wellington region especially in NZ Maori males aged 16-30. Public health strategies are needed to decrease IPV as a cause of maxillofacial fractures.

Keywords

Maxillofacial; Facial; Fractures; Interpersonal violence; Alcohol

Cite the article

York BS, Sent-Doux KN, Heo J, Barnett M, Marsh RW, MacKinnon CA, et al. Interpersonal Violence � The Leading Cause of Maxillofacial Fractures. Clin Surg. 2019; 4: 2417.