title: Mandibular Fractures Admitted to the Emergency Department: Data Analysis from a Swiss Level One Trauma Centre.
abstract: Mandibular fracture is a common occurrence in emergency medicine and belongs to the most frequent facial fractures. Historically road traffic injuries (RTIs) have played a prominent role as a cause for mandibular fractures. We extracted data from all patients between August 2012 and February 2015 with "lower jaw fracture" or "mandibular fracture" from the routine database from the emergency department. We conducted a descriptive analysis at a Swiss level one trauma centre. 144 patients were admitted with suspected mandibular fractures. The majority underwent CT diagnostic (83%). In 7% suspected mandibular fracture was not confirmed. More than half of all patients suffered two or more fractures. The fractures were median or paramedian in 77/144 patients (53%) and in other parts (corpus, mandibular angle, ramus mandibularis, collum, and temporomandibular joint) in 100/144 (69%). Male to female ratio was 3 : 1 up to 59 years of age; 69% were younger than 40 years. 72% of all patients presented during daytime, 69% had to be hospitalized, and 31% could be discharged from the ED after treatment. Most fractures were due to fall (44%), followed by interpersonal violence (25%) and sport activities (12%). Falls were a dominant cause of fracture in all age groups while violence and sport activities were common only in younger patients. Comparisons to other studies were difficult due to lack of standardization of causes contributing to the injuries. In the observed time period and setting RTIs have played a minor role compared to falls, interpersonal violence, and sports. In the future, standardized documentation as well as categorization of causes for analytic purposes is urgently needed to facilitate international comparison of studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Freiburgstrasse, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Kemal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yildirgan
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Freiburgstrasse, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Edris
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zahir
authors.affiliation: Thoracic Surgery, Department for Stomach-Intestines, Liver and Lung Diseases, Bern University Hospital, Freiburgstrasse, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Siamak
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharafi
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Freiburgstrasse, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sufian
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9763-092X
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.affiliation: Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schaller
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Freiburgstrasse, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Meret E
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3047-9350
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ricklin
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Freiburgstrasse, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Aristomenis K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Exadaktylos