Mandibular Fractures: Demographic and Clinical Characteristics

Abstract

Background: Statistics relating to mandibular fractures vary and is influenced by socioeconomic, cultural and environmental factors prevailing in any given region.
Objectives: The present study was aimed at determining the demographic and clinical characteristics of mandibular fractures at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano over an 18-months period.
Methods: Patients of all age groups that presented with mandibular fractures were consecutively examined. Information on epidemiologic and clinical characteristics were obtained and analyzed. P= 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Of the 113 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 87.6% were males and 12.4% were females. Ages of participants ranged from 5 to 70 years. Mean age for males was 27.88 ± 9.98 while it was 27.14 ± 19.37 for females (p>0.05). Overall more males (87.60%) sustained fractures than females (12.40%). Motorcycle - related accidents was responsible for 61.06% of mandibular fractures. Only 23.08% of patients with road traffic- related accidents used any form of protective measures. The commonest site of fractures was parasymphysis (46.90%).
Conclusion: Motorcycle-related accident is the main cause of mandibular fractures in this part of the globe. There is need to enforce existing road traffic legislation aimed at reducing the morbidity associated with mandibular fractures.

Keywords: Mandibular fractures, Pattern.