(0505) An 11-Year Analysis of Craniofacial Injuries in Basketball Players: Evaluating Gender and Racial Disparities

Introduction: Injuries to the head and neck are common in basketball players; however, there is a paucity of long term large-scale data on such injuries, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to provide a review of the epidemiology and injury characteristics of basketball players with craniofacial injuries over an 11-year period.

Methods: The US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database was queried (January 2024). All basketball injuries between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2023 were identified using the basketball specific procedure code. All head and neck injuries were then isolated. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS.

Results: Between 2012-2023, 29,744 basketball players presented to the emergency department with a head or neck injury. The most commonly affected age group was 11-15 years old. The majority of patients were male (79.9%). The head (45.2%), face (nose, eyelid, eye area) (33.7%), and mouth (11.2%) were the most commonly injured anatomic regions. The most common diagnoses were lacerations (30.7%), internal organ injuries (20.5%), and concussions (17.9%). Most injuries occurred in a place of recreation (49.5%). Patients most frequently were treated and released from the hospital (96.2%) and a small percentage of patients required hospitalization (1.3%).

Conclusions: We report the largest epidemiologic study on craniofacial injuries in basketball players. Adolescent male players are a particularly vulnerable population. While both male and female players have minor injuries, they are both at risk of serious craniofacial injuries necessitating facial trauma expertise. Injury rates decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic but continue to rise. Thorough head and neck evaluation, proper equipment, and supervision during play may help mitigate injury risk and allow for targeted injury prevention.