Fracture Patterns in Pediatric Maxillofacial Trauma: Retrospective Study at a Tertiary Care Center in Iran.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the demographic characteristics, etiology, and fracture patterns of maxillofacial traumas in patients aged 18 years or less in Gorgan, northern Iran. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 132 patients (≤18 years old) were enrolled. These patients were referred to the emergency department (ED) of 5 Azar Hospital, a major tertiary referral center in Gorgan, Iran, between October 2020 and September 2021. Medical records and computed tomography (CT) scans were reviewed. Data regarding age, sex, mechanism of injury, and fracture type were extracted and analyzed using STATA software (version 12). RESULTS: Most of the patients were male (male: female ratio, approximately 4:1), with a mean age of 12.6±0.5 years. Road traffic accidents (RTAs) were the most prevalent cause of injury (63.1%), followed by falls (32.3%). Motorcycles were involved in 79% of RTA cases. Fractures were identified in 30.3% (n=40) of patients. Among these, midface/maxillary fractures were the most common (72.5%), followed by mandibular (15%) and combined fractures (12.5%). No statistically significant associations were found between fracture type and age, sex, or trauma mechanism. CONCLUSION: In northern Iran, pediatric maxillofacial trauma predominantly affects teenage male adolescents and is primarily caused by RTAs, particularly those involving motorcycles. These findings underscored the critical need for enhanced traffic safety regulations and targeted public health interventions to protect children and adolescents.