title: Interpersonal Violence Is Associated With Increased Severity of Geriatric Facial Trauma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The geriatric population is rapidly increasing in number with increased demand on health care resources including those spent on the treatment of maxillofacial trauma. The purpose of this analysis was to investigate the independent and cumulative associations between potential risk factors (age, gender, mechanism of injury, drug use, and alcohol use) for and the severity of geriatric facial trauma.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional analysis of secondary data of geriatric (individuals aged ≥65 years) facial trauma using the Allegheny General Hospital Trauma Registry database. Data were collected for diagnosis codes that reflected facial trauma (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes 802.0 to 802.9, 800.1 to 801.9, and 803.0 to 804.9) and specific mechanisms of injury (E810 to E819, motor vehicle traffic accidents; E880 to E888, accidental falls; and E960 to E969, injury purposely inflicted by other persons). The Facial Injury Severity Scale (FISS) is a validated measurement that was used to determine the severity of the facial trauma and calculated through analysis of the abstracted data obtained from the trauma registry and patient records. Pearson correlations, 2-way independent t test, 1-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression were used to test hypotheses for independent and cumulative associations between the risk factors for and the severity of geriatric facial trauma. Statistical significance was set at the P < .05 level.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample was composed of 229 patients with a mean age of 72.3 ± 4.5 years. A statistically significant association between mechanism of injury and the severity of geriatric facial trauma (P = .019) was found. Specifically, interpersonal violence (assault) was associated with the greatest facial trauma severity (FISS score, 4.2) when compared with motor vehicle collisions (FISS score, 2.2; P = .011) and falls (FISS score, 2.4; P = .016).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Interpersonal violence (assault) is associated with increased severity of geriatric facial trauma compared with other risk factors.
authors: Assistant Professor and Program Director, Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Allegheny General Hospital, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA. Electronic address: jecdna@aol.com.
authors: Joseph E
authors: JE
authors: Cillo
authors: Faculty, College of Health Sciences, Walden University, Minneapolis, MN.
authors: Talmage M
authors: TM
authors: Holmes
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005151:Facial Injuries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*