Maxillofacial and Cervical Spine Injuries - A Cross Sectional Study on Prevalence and Association of the Both in Maxillofacial Trauma Patients

Aim: To assess the prevalence, and association of maxillofacial and cervical spine injuries in patients sustaining maxillofacial trauma. Background: The severity of maxillofacial injuries in a trauma might divert the surgeons' attention from other concomitant injuries that could be potentially life threatening if neglected [1]. This study aims to highlight the importance of cervical spine injuries that are often overlooked during maxillofacial examination Methods: A cross sectional retrospective analysis of trauma patients reported to the emergency department of a tertiary care centre in Tamil Nadu during March 2015-March 2020 was done. A detailed review of the maxillofacial trauma cases was done. Details related to the demography, trauma, injury sustained, primary and secondary survey, records pertaining to the diagnosis of cervical spine injuries were studied, recorded and subjected to statistical analysis. Result: 888 out of 6350 patients sustained maxillofacial injuries. Majority of them belonged to the age range of 20-39 years and the population was predominantly male. 61% of them presented with soft tissue injuries. Among the hard tissue injuries, mandibular fractures were highest followed by isolated zygomatico-maxillary complex fractures. Cervical spine injuries existed concurrently in 5.63% of the total number of patients. Prevalence was found higher in combined mandibular and middle third of face fractures (1.35%) followed by pan facial fractures (1.12%). Conclusion: Though reported incidence is low, underestimation of these injuries could lead to significant morbid states as management of the facial fractures essentially involves manipulation of neck that might increase the chances of worsening the situation further.