Facial bone fractures in the elderly: a recent five year retrospective analysis of 300 patients

ABSTRACT

Trauma in the elderly, such as facial bone fractures, has been increasing, but there is paucity of literature examining the facial bone fractures of the elderly. Therefore, this study contributes to the prevention of facial bone fractures in the elderly and presents support from the literature for establishing a support policy for the elderly. Retrospective analyses were conducted on clinical records from January 2006 through December 2010 for facial bone fractures in 474 cases; of those cases, 300 patients were 55 years old or above. The statistical analyses were conducted according to the sex, age group, occupation, area of residence, time of accident, cause of accident, site, and multiplicity of the fractures, associated injuries, combined soft tissue injuries, treatment methods, and sequelae. Two hundred twenty-five (75.0%) were male and seventy-five (25.0%) were female patients. Among the age groups, patients in the age range of 65 to 74 years old were the most common. There were 136 (45.3%) patients who were farmers and agricultural support personnel. Patients in urban areas were more commocn than those from rural areas. The number of the patients increased each year except in 2008. The most common cause of fractures was traffic accidents, followed by slip down. Zygomatic fractures were the highest among all fracture types, followed by nasal bone fractures. There were more cases undergoing conservative treatment compared to those in a study of all age groups. Gathering information on facial bone fractures in the elderly will be valuable in establishing preventive strategies and policies.