Clinical Epidemiology, Patterns and Treatment of Maxillofacial Fractures in Children and Adolescents: A 15-Year Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to describe the main clinical epidemiology, characteristics and treatment of pediatric maxillofacial fractures in different age groups.

METHODS

This research was a retrospective study that was conducted for 15 years in a tertiary hospital for oral and maxillofacial surgery from southeast China. Age, sex, etiology, type of fracture, treatment and concomitant injury were collected and analyzed from the data of the enrolled patients aged 0-18 years. The patients were categorized into three groups: ≤6 years old, 7–12 years old, and 13–18 years old. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS, Version 27.

RESULTS

The incidence was 16.37% (n=346/2114) and a total of 341 patients with maxillofacial fractures were followed up for at least 6 months. Fall from a height (FAH) was the primary cause of maxillofacial fractures in 0-6 age group, whereas Fall at ground level (FAG) predominated in 7-18 age group. Among the mandibular fractures, isolated condylar fractures were predominantly unilateral (p < 0.001, Cramér's V= 0.439), whereas condylar fractures that occured alongside a symphysis fracture were more likely to be bilateral (p< 0.001, Cramér's V=0.297).

CONCLUSIONS

There were different clinical epidemiological features and characteristics of pediatric maxillofacial fractures in different age groups. And condylar fractures exhibit distinct pathogenic patterns and require specific therapeutic considerations. However,there were also some limitations in this retrospective study.