Characteristics of craniofacial trauma in a rural hospital in South India

Background/Purpose: Purpose of this study was to evaluate the population characteristics of patients with both head injury and facial fractures in rural centre. Methods: This study was a retrospective study performed at Justice K. S. Hegde Charitable Hospital, Deralakatte (Mangalore) and a total of 36 patients were reviewed. Type of fracture, mechanism, clinical features and pattern of injuries were noted. All patients who sustained both cranial and facial injuries were included in this study. Results: Mean age was 32.64 years (range, 4 years to 70 years) with a male to female ratio of 35:1. Motor vehicular accidents (44.4%) were most common cause of injury followed by fall (22.2%). Most common areas involved were upper face (36.1%) and lower face (25%) followed by combination of upper and middle face (11.1%) other areas were less commonly involved. Headache and vomiting were most common clinical features followed by loss of consciences. Closed head injuries were the most common neurological injury (14 cases) followed by skull fractures (5 cases). Most patients with upper facial fractures or combination of it had associated injuries. There was no mortality in the present series. Conclusion: This study further supports that injury patterns in developing countries particularly in rural area are no different from developed countries and needs to follow similar preventive and counseling measures. Keywords: craniofacial trauma, neurological injury, facial injury, maxillofacial trauma Annals of African Medicine Vol. 5 (1) 2006: 33–3