Alcohol abusive use increases facial trauma?

Area of Science:

• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Trauma Surgery
• Public Health

Background:

• Trauma is a leading cause of death and morbidity globally, with alcohol abuse being a significant contributing factor and a major public health concern.
• Limited prospective studies exist on the association between facial trauma and alcohol consumption, necessitating further investigation into this relationship.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of alcohol use on patients presenting with facial trauma.
• To analyze the correlation between alcohol consumption patterns and the characteristics of facial trauma.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, cross-sectional study involving 100 facial trauma patients treated at a State Hospital's Oral Maxillofacial Surgery Division.
• Data collected included patient demographics, trauma etiology, injury type, facial region affected, treatment, and hospitalization duration.
• The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was administered to assess alcohol use risks and dependence, with statistical analyses including chi-squared and Fisher's Exact tests.

Main Results:

• The study population comprised 100 patients, predominantly young males (86%) with a mean age of 33.50 years.
• Traffic accidents, primarily involving motorcycles, were the leading cause of facial trauma (57%), frequently resulting in fractures (78%), particularly of the mandible (36%).
• A significant association was found between alcohol use (AUDIT scores) and the occurrence of hematoma (p=0.003) and increased hospitalization days (p=0.005).

Conclusions:

• While no direct association was found between alcohol consumption and trauma etiology, patients involved in traffic accidents often scored as at-risk for alcohol use.
• The findings underscore that facial trauma disproportionately affects young men, often linked to motorcycle traffic accidents and associated with problematic alcohol consumption patterns.