A 3-year survey of assault-related maxillofacial fractures in central Switzerland

Eggensperger, Nicole; Smolka, Koord; Scheidegger, Benedict; Zimmermann, Heinz; Iizuka, Tateyuki (2007). A 3-year survey of assault-related maxillofacial fractures in central Switzerland. Journal of cranio-maxillo-facial surgery, 35(3), pp. 161-7. Oxford: Elsevier 10.1016/j.jcms.2007.01.002

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AIM: The aim of this study was to analyse the character of assault-related facial fractures in central Switzerland and to compare their prevalence with the data presented in similar reports from other countries. MATERIAL: The present study comprised 65 patients with assault-related maxillofacial fractures treated in the Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital of Bern between 2000 and 2002. METHODS: The mechanism, the causes of the injuries and the location of the fractures were analysed by reviewing emergency and hospital records. Concomitant injuries were also studied. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 33 years with the largest group being below 25 years. The male-to-female ratio was 56:9. The most common causes of assault-related injuries were fights, most frequently facial blows, accounting for 92.5% of all patients. Seventy-six per cent of the fractures occurred in the middle and upper facial skeleton with a predominance of 2:1 for the left side. In 39 patients (60%) surgery was necessary, with a mean hospital stay of 3.3 days. Thirty-five patients (54%) had concomitant injuries. Alcohol and drug abuse was found in 15 patients (23%). CONCLUSION: It seems that mostly young men suffer assault-related maxillofacial injuries. A contributing factor to the increased disposition for violence could be alcohol and drug abuse. Therefore, national prevention programmes for alcohol or drug abuse and addiction might have a positive effect on reducing the incidence of assault-related maxillofacial injuries.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Head Organs and Neurology (DKNS) > Clinic of Craniomaxillofacial Surgery 04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Intensive Care, Emergency Medicine and Anaesthesiology (DINA) > University Emergency Center
UniBE Contributor:	Eggensperger, Nicole, Smolka, Koord Maximilian Wilke, Zimmermann, Heinz (B), Iizuka, Tateyuki
ISSN:	1010-5182
ISBN:	17583524
Publisher:	Elsevier
Language:	English
Submitter:	Factscience Import
Date Deposited:	04 Oct 2013 14:56
Last Modified:	29 Mar 2023 23:33
Publisher DOI:	10.1016/j.jcms.2007.01.002
PubMed ID:	17583524
Web of Science ID:	000248959900005
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/23816 (FactScience: 44499)