(0511) Demographics and Associated Injury Patterns in 794 Pediatric Facial Fracture Patients at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction: Facial fractures of the pediatric population are different from the adult population. This is primarily because of the impact on future growth. Hence, it is vital to understand the injury patterns which will further aid in risk alleviation. This is a descriptive study conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital managing pediatric facial fracture patients.

Methods: All patients under 18 years of age who were evaluated for facial fractures at the institute’s trauma center between 2020 and 2023 were reviewed. Studied variables included patients’ demographic details, pattern of fracture, etiology, associated injuries, risks, management, and alleviation.

Results: Out of the 794 pediatric patients included, the mean age was 13.7 years with 73.29% (582) male patients. Of the total, 435 patients (54.78%) were above 12 years old and indulged in sports which was the leading cause of injury in these patients. This was in contrast to patients under 6 years old (36.14%; 287) with regular daily living activities. Amongst these, around 37% (294) of patients were hospitalized, 4.9% (39) needed ICU management, and around 51% (405) needed surgery. Older patients did not need ICU admission (p < 0.001), whereas surgical intervention increased with age (p < 0.001). While older patients commonly experienced nasal fractures (p < 0.001) and zygomaticomaxillary complex (p = 0.001); orbital (p < 0.001) and nasal fractures (p < 0.001) were observed in younger patients. Neurologic (29.7%; 236) and soft tissue (63.35%; 503) injuries were the most common associated ones.

Conclusions: Our study lays out an updated characterization of facial fractures in pediatric setting and bring forth a much needed skeleton for further similar studies on management and preventative care for the same.