Abstract
The aim of this retrospective study was to study the clinical patterns of oro-facial infections presented and their management (or trends of management) at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dental Faculty, University of Malaya. These included the predisposing factors, presentations and management. This study reviewed the oro-facial infection cases over 15 years. The data was obtained from case note reviews of patients using specially designed proforma. A total number of 409 samples were included in this study. Majority of the patients were generally healthy with about 6.6% having diabetes mellitus. The common presentations were pain (47.4%), pus discharges (16.9%) and limitation of mouth opening (12.5%). The major site was in the submandibular region (18.9%) followed by cheek (13.2%). Most of the infections were from odontogenic source (63.2%). Other sources includes cysts (15.4%) and tumours (6.7%). Incision and drainage were the treatment of choice performed on 57.55% of patients. Monoantimicrobial therapy was the treatment instituted in 20.8% of cases.
Highlights
Oro-facial infections may lead to dreadful consequences
The incidence of oro-facial infections was highest in the 20-29 year age-group
This age group accounted for about 33% of the total cases. This was followed by the 30-39 year age group, which accounted for 20.1% of total cases (Table 1)
Summary
The odontogenic infections can travel downwards as far as the subphrenic space causing subphrenic abscesses [1]. They may spread into the cavernous cavity causing thrombosis of the area. The management of oro-facial infections remains as surgical drainage, antimicrobial therapy and removal of infective sources. There is no standard regime for the antimicrobial of choice that is currently being used in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. The efficacy of the management of oro-facial infections in the Department had not been documented.
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