AB164. SOH25_AB_337. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maxillofacial trauma- incidence, aetiology and surgical productivity
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AB164. SOH25_AB_337. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maxillofacial trauma- incidence, aetiology and surgical productivity

Saoirse Kilgarriff, Louise Barry, Francesca Lee, Akinsola Ogunbowale, Michael Gilbride

Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

Background: Reduced hospital access, coupled with mandated alterations in personal and interpersonal behaviours, impacted the volume of maxillofacial surgery during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The primary objective of this study was to assess the impact of the pandemic on the incidence and aetiology of maxillofacial trauma. A secondary aim was to assess if surgical productivity volumes have since returned to pre-COVID levels.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing operative management of maxillofacial fractures between March 2018 and December 2023 within University Hospital Limerick was completed.

Results: A total of 277 patients underwent surgical management of their facial fractures. There was a marked male preponderance (84.47%) with a median age of 26 years [interquartile range (IQR): 20–39 years]. The mandible was the most frequently fractured site (49.25%), followed by the zygoma (24.18%). Interpersonal violence was the most frequent fracture aetiology prior to, during, and following the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a significant decrease in the relative frequency of assault-related fractures during the COVID-19 pandemic (54.68% vs. 35.29%, P=0.01). Conversely, there was an increase in the occurrence ratio of road traffic accident-related injuries during COVID-19 restrictions (3.91% vs. 11.76%, P=0.048). There was a 60.16% reduction in operative treatment of maxillofacial fractures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the current trajectory, surgical productivity of the maxillofacial unit has returned to 87.5% of pre-COVID levels.

Conclusions: The reduction in assault-related facial fractures during the COVID-19 pandemic is likely attributable to reduced socialisation surrounding known risk factors for physical violence, namely drugs and alcohol.

Keywords: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); interpersonal violence; maxillofacial trauma; surgical productivity; road traffic accident

Acknowledgments

None.

Footnote

Funding: None.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-25-ab164
Cite this abstract as: Kilgarriff S, Barry L, Lee F, Ogunbowale A, Gilbride M. AB164. SOH25_AB_337. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maxillofacial trauma- incidence, aetiology and surgical productivity. Mesentery Peritoneum 2025;9:AB164.

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