title: Maxillofacial Gunshot Injuries: A Comparison of Civilian and Military Data.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare military with civilian gunshot wounds (GSWs) in the maxillofacial region in order to establish differences in presentation, morbidity, and surgical management.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study design was used. The University of Florida at Jacksonville oral and maxillofacial surgery operating room census and hospital trauma registry were both reviewed to identify maxillofacial GSW cases from 2005 through 2011. Military GSW data (2005 through 2011) were obtained from the US Department of Defense (DOD). The predictor variables were civilian versus military GSW events. The outcome variables of interest included the region of the face involved, race, gender, death during admission, hospital length of stay, and number of days in the intensive care unit (ICU). Descriptive statistics were computed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample was divided into military maxillofacial GSWs (n = 412) and civilian maxillofacial GSWs (n = 287 treated of 2,478 presented). A significant difference was measured between study groups regarding the region of the face involved (P = .0451), gender (P ≤ .0001), and race (P ≤ .0001). No significant relationship was measured regarding deaths during admission (P = .6510) for either study group. No standard deviation values for hospital length of stay or number of ICU days were provided by the DOD. The mean hospital length of stay for the military group was within the 95% confidence interval of the civilian group findings (6.0-7.6). The mean number of ICU days for the military group was not within the civilian group's 95% confidence interval (1.9-2.9).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data showed important differences in anatomic location, gender, and race distribution of maxillofacial GSWs between military and civilian populations. Limited analysis of hospital length of stay and number of ICU days might indicate no meaningful difference in hospital length of stay, although there was a statistical difference in the number of ICU days between the 2 populations. Future research comparing surgical strategies in these 2 environments could assist maxillofacial surgeons in providing optimal care to their patients.
authors.affiliation: Resident, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Florida Hospital, Jacksonville, FL. Electronic address: carlo.guevara@jax.ufl.edu.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guevara
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Division of Head and Neck Surgery, University of Florida Hospital, Jacksonville, FL.
authors.forename: Phillip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pirgousis
authors.affiliation: Colonel, US Army Reserve, Joint Special Operations Medical Training Center; Program Director, Pediatric Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Florida Hospital, Jacksonville, FL.
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Steinberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D003422:Critical Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005151:Facial Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008338:Mandibular Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D008446:Maxillofacial Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D017695:Soft Tissue Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014857:Warfare; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D055815:Young Adult