Citation

Guevara C, Pirgousis P, Steinberg B. J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg. 2015; 74(4): 795.e1-7957.

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.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.joms.2015.11.007

PMID

26687155

Abstract

PURPOSE: To compare military with civilian gunshot wounds (GSWs) in the maxillofacial region to establish differences in presentation, morbidity, and surgical management.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was used. The University of Florida-Jacksonville Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Surgical Census and Trauma Registry were 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 relation 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.

Language: en