Epidemiology of zygomaticomaxillary complex fracture in oral and maxillofacial trauma patients

Abstract

Introduction: The current study is aimed at investigating the epidemiology of zygomatico- maxillary complex fracture in oral and maxillofacial trauma patients in a trauma hospital.
 Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study with 187 patients was conducted at Khatam al-Anbia Hospital in Zahedan from April 2018 to December 2021. All the data including etiology, gender, age, ethnicity, year and place of occurrence, and site of fracture were obtained from the medical records of all oral and maxillofacial trauma patients who were subjected to ZMC fracture. Chi-Square and Fisher’s exact tests were used to analyze the data.
 Results: Mean age of the patients was 29.53±14.13 years. Out of 187 patients, 87.2% (163 people) were male and 12.8% (24 people) were female. People between 20 and 40 years had more ZMC fractures than other age groups with 104 cases (55.7%). Baluch ethnic group with 111 people (59.3%) experienced more fractures than other ethnic groups. The highest fracture rate occurred in 2021 with 63 cases (33.7%). Street was the most prevalent place of occurrence for fractures with 134 cases (71.6%). Isolated cheek fracture was the most common with 95 cases (51%). The most common cause of fracture was traffic accidents with a prevalence of 71.1%.
 Conclusion: The results revealed that traffic accident is the main cause of ZMC fractures in the studied population. Thus, public awareness and strict implementation of traffic policies are needed.