title: Presentation of maxillofacial injuries in the 2005 earthquake victims.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Earthquakes cause a lot of damage to life and property. Maxillofacial injuries constitute an important proportion of injuries in earthquakes and some 13% of the trauma patients after the earthquakes suffer from maxillofacial injuries. The objective of this study was to assess the presentation of maxillofacial injuries in earthquake victims.
  
  
  METHODS
  This descriptive study was conducted at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dental Section Ayub Teaching Hospital. Abbottabad from October 8th, 2005 to January 8th, 2006. Three hundred and seventy-eight patients were included in this study in the three months following the October 8th, 2005 earthquake on consecutive nonprobability sampling basis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Isolated facial bone fractures rather than the multiple bone fractures were the commonest type of fractures in earthquake victims. A significant number of patients presented with only soft tissue injuries and no bony fractures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although considerable number of patients with fracture of multiple facial bones were present in the earthquake victims but isolated facial bone fractures and soft tissue injuries were the commonest type of injuries.
authors.forename: Iram
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abbas
authors.forename: Masroor Manshad
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Abbasi
authors.forename: Shah Muhammad
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ghous
authors.forename: Nofil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Ans
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ayu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D005151:Facial Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008446:Maxillofacial Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult