Clinical characteristic and treatment of maxillofacial trauma in the elderly / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristic and provide therapeutic techniques of maxillofacial trauma in the elderly. Methods Geriatric maxillaofacial trauma patients admitted to our hospital from January 1992 to December 2002 was retrospectively reviewed. Data were collected according to etiology, location, comorbidities, associated injuries, therapeutic methods and the outcome. The patients were compared with a control group consisting of 200 young and adult patients admitted at the same period. Results For the 126 geriatric trauma patients, the major causes were traffic accidents(61.1%) and violence assault(25.4%). A large proportion of facial injuries occurred on the lower part of the face. 69.1% of the patients presented with preexisting diseases. Most of the fractures were not treated(35.7%). The length of hospitalization and ICU stay were relatively longer when compared with the control group(P