Epidemiology of pediatric facial trauma in Chile: A retrospective study of 7,617 cases in 3 years

OBJECTIVES To describe the epidemiology of facial trauma injuries in a group of Chilean children aged 15 years or less. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective study of case series. Between 2006 and 2009, clinical records of 293,090 patients were reviewed. Data of patients with trauma injuries to the face were collected and evaluated for: age, sex, day and month of hospital admission, cause of injury, anatomical location, type of injury and presence of associated injuries. RESULTS A total of 7,617 patients with 8,944 injuries were found. Boy to girl ratio was 1,7:1. Preschool age children were most frequently affected. Main cause of injury were falls, soft tissue injuries the most common type of injury. Associated injuries occurred in 11% of cases. CONCLUSIONS Facial trauma presents a significant frequency in the group of Chilean children studied. Preeschool age boys were prone to present facial trauma of mild severity associated to falls.