ABSTRACT

Assault-related oral and maxillofacial injuries; Etiology, pattern of clinical presentation and management at a Tertiary Hospital in Northwestern Nigeria.
Mujtaba Bala¹, Ille-Ogedengbe Bruno², Ramat O. Braimah¹, Abdulrazaq O. Taiwo¹, Anas B. Tasfe³, Abubakar M. Kaura⁴, Abubakar M. Gummi⁵
Background: The oral and maxillofacial region is a prominent part of the human body and, is prone to assault. The assault-related injuries though under-reported, are not uncommon. This study aimed to present the etiology, pattern of clinical presentation and, management of assault-related injuries to the oral and maxillofacial region. Materials and method: A retrospective study was conducted over 5 years. After obtaining ethical approval from the research and ethics committee of the institution. All case notes of patients who presented and managed for assault-related oral and maxillofacial injuries were retrieved. Patients' demographics, history of substance abuse, etiology of the injury, instruments used, type of injuries sustained, treatment given and, outcome were extracted. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for social sciences (SPSS version 25). Results: There were 17 (77.3%) males and, 5 (22.7%) females in the age range of 19 –41 years with a mean±SD of 30.41±6.37 years. The majority of the patients (12 (54.5%)) were in the age range of 21-30 years and, only 8 (36.4%) were married. There were 12 (54.5%) patients who gave a history of substance abuse and, 9 (40.9%) were involved in political thuggery. The nature of weapons used includes sharp objects 12 (54.5%) which constitute the majority. There was bone involvement in 15(66.2%) patients. The main treatment offered was surgical repair of deep laceration in 6 (27.3%) patients while open reduction and internal fixation was performed in 5 (22.7%) patients. A total of 19 (86.4%) were treated and, monitored with no recorded complications. Conclusion: Non-projectile assault-related oral and maxillofacial injuries do occur in a resource challenge setting. Careful assessment and, meticulous planning will lead to an acceptable treatment outcome. There is a need for preventive mechanisms such as providing education as well as reducing the rate of unemployment in the society.
10.51658/ABMS.202331.7
Download
Print

Call for Papers

Submission is open for Volume 5, Number 1, July - December, 2024 Click here to submit paper

Previous Issues

Indexing