Epidemiological and therapeutic characterization of patients with maxillofacial fractures treated during COVID-19

Introduction: COVID-19 influenced the epidemiology and therapeutic on many diseases; however, there are only few researches in the area of the maxillofacial traumatology and in Cuba there is only one specific study published. Objective: To characterize from an epidemiologic and therapeutic point of view the patients with maxillofacial fractures treated in a Cuban university hospital in the COVID-19 context. Methods: An observational, descriptive and cross-sectional research was performed. Age, sex, origin, types of fractures, laterality, number of traces, anatomical localizations, etiology, treatment, day of the week, and month of trauma were studied. The information was obtained through questioning, clinical examination and radiological studies. Absolute frequencies and percentages were used as summary measures. Results: 54 patients, with a predominance of males (90.7 %), were studied. The most represented age group was 41-60. Interpersonal violence and falls were the main etiologies. One hundred fifty-one fractures with an average of 2.8 fractures per patient were diagnosed. Thirty-two patients (59.3 %) had zygomatic-maxillary complex fractures. The mandibular angle and parasymphysis were the most affected anatomical localizations. Zygomatic-maxillary complex fractures were treated with non-surgical procedures (50 %), while open reduction and internal fixation (57.1 %) was the main therapeutic modality used for treating mandibular fractures. Conclusions: Male patients, with ages between the fifth and sixth decades of the life, affected by zygomatic-maxillary complex fractures prevailed