Epidemiological profile of patients with facial injuries treated in an emergency hospital

Abstract

This research aimed to identify the characteristics of patients suffering from craniofacial trauma seen in the emergency unit of a teaching hospital in the state of São Paulo. Treatment is a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study with a quantitative approach. Data were obtained from medical records, in the period from 2011 to 2014. The sample consisted of 867 patients. The characteristics of the study population showed that 60.9% were male, 66.8% were aged 0-20 years old, 87% were white, 55.5% were in the city of São José do Rio Preto, 79.6% were inactive, 84.8% had no partner and 52.7% level of education were illiterate. Studies in North America show that falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries to children and adolescents up to 19 years old. The higher incidence of trauma was the falling with 74.1%, the craniofacial trauma with 75.7% and more frequent when compared to facial trauma with 24.2%. The occurrence of exams was 19.7%, dressings with 6.5%, 6.3% suture, 23.9% medication and 0.7% surgical procedures. It is concluded that the facial trauma were more common in the age group between 21 and 60 years old, active patients, with a partner and higher education. The main causes were physical aggression, syncope/seizure. The craniofacial trauma was more frequent between the ages of 0 and 20 years old and with more than 60 years old, retired, unmarried and illiterate, with the fall as the leading cause.