Pattern of Facial Laceration at Tertiary Care Centre in Eastern Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

TL;DR

This study describes the pattern of facial lacerations in a Nepalese population, finding that they are most common in young males due to road traffic accidents.

Contribution

The study provides a detailed analysis of facial laceration patterns in a specific Nepalese region.

Findings

Facial lacerations were most common in males aged 21-30 years.

Road traffic accidents were the main cause of facial lacerations.

The chin was the most frequently affected site, with a T-shaped distribution pattern.

Abstract

Facial lacerations are a source of concern as these can be life threatening at times due to extensive haemorrhage and also leave lifelong scars. The objective of this study was to find out the pattern of facial lacerations in the Nepalese population visiting a tertiary care centre in eastern Nepal.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the maxillofacial trauma patients visiting the Emergency department and department of Dental Surgery at a tertiary care centre from 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee . All patients attending the Dental outpatient department and Emergency department for the management of facial laceration in the study period were included in the study.

Out of 236 patients, there were 199 (84.32%) male and 37 (15.67%) female patients. The most common age group was of 21-30 years 88 (37.29%) and Road Traffic Accidents 183 (77.54%) was the main aetiology. Facial lacerations and maxillofacial fractures both were seen in 98 (41.53%) patients. There were a total of 358 facial laceration sites among 236 patients and chin region 76 (21.22%) was the most common followed by forehead region 54 (15.08%).

Facial lacerations were mostly seen in males, younger adults and road traffic accidents were the main aetiology for these injuries. Facial lacerations showed predominant T-shaped distribution with chin being the most common site.