Presence of accompanying head injury in patients with maxillofacial trauma

BACKGROUND Patients with maxillofacial fractures are at high risk of accompanying traumatic cranial injuries. Prompt determination of head injury in these patients is crucial for improving patient survival and recovery. METHODS The records of 246 patients with maxillofacial fractures referred to the emergency department of our hospital between January 2006 and September 2009 were reviewed in this retrospective study. The patients' age and gender, cause, type and location of the maxillofacial fracture, and the cranial injuries were analyzed. RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 23.61 +/- 16.75 years (83.3% males and 16.7% females). Cranial injury was observed in 38 patients with maxillofacial trauma. While the risk of head injury was found to be 3.44-fold lower among patients with single facial bone fracture (p<0.001), the risk of experiencing head injury significantly increased in patients with multiple facial bone fractures (p<0.001). The risk of head trauma significantly increased in patients with fractures of the nasal bone, maxillary bone, mandibular bone, and with frontal region fractures (p<0.05 in each group). CONCLUSION The patients with multiple facial bone fractures should be investigated with regard to head injury even if they do not have clinical findings.