Factors affecting mortality of hospitalized facial trauma patients in Al-Ain City, United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Background Facial injuries affect one-third of severely injured patients. These injuries have devastating long-term negative impacts on quality of life. We aimed to study the epidemiology of facial injuries and factors affecting the mortality of hospitalized facial trauma patients in Al-Ain City, United Arab Emirates. Methodology This is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from Al-Ain Hospital Trauma Registry. All patients with facial injury who were hospitalized for more than 24 hours or who died after arrival at the hospital during the period from January 2014 to December 2017 were studied. Two sample data analysis was used to compare patients who died and those who survived. Significant factors were then entered into a backward logistic regression model to define factors affecting mortality. Results 408 patients having a mean age of 31.9 years were studied, 87.3% were males. The main mechanisms of injury were road traffic collisions (52.2%) and fall from height (11.3%). 289 (70.8%) patients had associated injuries which were mainly in the head and chest. The backward logistic regression model showed that the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was the only factor that predicted mortality, p<0.0001 with the best cut-off point of 7.5, having a sensitivity of 0.972 and a specificity of 0.8. The ROC had an area under the curve of 0.924. Conclusion The majority of facial injury patients in our setting are young males who were involved in road traffic collisions or falls from height. The most important factor predicting the mortality of these patients was the low GCS. Those having a GCS of 8 and more had a better chance of survival. This information is very important when counseling patients or their relatives for facial surgery.

Unmasking the Underlying Causes: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Mortality From Intentional and Unintentional Injuries in the United Arab Emirates

“…Similarly, since men predominantly undertake driving roles, they are at a higher risk of RTIs. A literature search also revealed that injury-specific deaths are more common in males than females [ 25 ]. Results of the current study suggest that injury-specific deaths were highest in the age group 25-34 years and 35-54 years.…”

Camel-Related Facial Injuries: A Seven-Year Retrospective Study

“…In the present study, our figure for the overall median length of hospital stay was lower than that reported by other studies on camel-related injuries [ 5 , 18 ]. Studies have shown that the most reliable predicting factors for mortality among patients with facial injuries were advanced age, increased ISS, and low GCS [ 25 , 29 , 30 ]. Our patients had a good overall outcome with no reported mortality.…”