Background
Fall is a common cause of injury across all ages of people. In Taiwan, it is the second or third common trauma mechanism that causes craniofacial fractures.
Some articles discussed the relation between different falling types and craniofacial fracture patterns. However, few studies focused on how falling height affects the injury pattern. Hence, the aim of our study is to analyze the pattern of craniofacial fractures and the associated injury that brought from different falling height and etiologies.
Methods
This retrospective study reviewed patients who had craniofacial fracture resulted from falls from 2008 to 2011. Fall was categorized into simple (fall on ground level), stair (fall on the stair), and height (fall from height). And the facial fracture part was classified into upper, middle, and lower. The demographic data were collected. The relation between falling height and craniofacial fracture patterns with associated injuries were analyzed.
Results
Total of 383 patients were recruited. There were 321 males (83.8%) and 62 females (16.2%) with a mean age of 41.8±22.3 and 41.1±28.2 years old respectively. The middle part was the most common fracture site regardless of the falling types. The facial fracture (middle, upper part), pelvic fracture, and extremity fracture rates significantly increased with the height of fall (coefficient=0.147, 0.158, 0.254), while the skull fracture rate decreased (coefficient=-0.99).
Conclusions
Our study revealed the injury pattern between different falling types and falling heights. The middle part of facial fracture was the most common fracture site.