Occurrence of injuries of the Maxillofacial Skeleton seen at a Teaching and National Referral Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.

Abstract

Objective: To describe the occurrence and aetiologic pattern of maxillofacial bone fractures. Design: A descriptive retrospective study. Setting: Kenyatta National Teaching and Referral Hospital, Nairobi. Subjects: All records of patients who presented at the hospital with fractures of the maxillofacial skeleton between 1994 and 1997. Results: A total of 152 patients' records were studied. 132 (86.8%) of these were males while 20 (13.2%) were females giving a male:female ratio of 6.6: 1. The most affected age group was the 21-30-years olds (31.8%) while the least affected group included those above 60 yrs (0.6%). The leading aetiologic factor was interpersonal violence accounting for 50.7% of the fractures followed by road traffic accidents (34.1 %). The mandible was found to have been the most affected maxillofacial bone (36.2%) whereas the zygoma had the highest incidence among midfacial bones. 85 (55.9%) of the patients had other associated injuries with head injuries accounting for 57.6% of them, followed by fractures of the limbs (31.7%). Incomplete record keeping (24.5%) was common. Conclusion: The major causes of maxillofacial bone fractures in the current study were interpersonal violence and road traffic accidents, with the most affected group being the males in the 21-30-yr age group. There is a need to improve methods of record keeping and details of records. In addition, in order to have a detailed and comprehensive understanding of maxillofacial injuries for intervention purposes, an indepth multi-centre study encompassing epidemioiogical and clinical presentations, significance of the various aetiological factors, radioiogical investigations, management and clinical outcome for various types of injuries and treatment is recommended.