Barriers to repair in maxillofacial trauma

Abstract

Importance Multiple factors can be associated with the delayed repair of maxillofacial injuries that may be associated with increased morbidity. OBJECTIVE To assess factors affecting timing of repair and barriers which may exist in the management of maxillofacial trauma. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective cohort study at a tertiary care facility used the Current Procedural Terminology coding to identify adult patients undergoing operative repair of maxillofacial injuries between January 2010 and December 2013. Demographic information, presence and severity of concomitant injuries, as well as fracture-specific data including fracture type(s), mechanism of injury, and documented complications were recorded. Identifiable delays for medical, logistical, or other reasons were also documented. Multivariate regression modeling was used to determine factors associated with increased time to repair. A comparative analysis was used to identify association between complications and time to operative repair. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Time to operative repair from date of presentation; association of known operative delay and perioperative complications. RESULTS Overall, 780 patients were included in the study. Of patients meeting inclusion criteria, mean (SD) age was 36.7 (14.2) years (range, 18-88 years), and 616 patients (79%) were male. Average time to repair was 6.5 days (range, 0-43 days), and 138 patients (17.7%) were observed to have a documented reason for delay for medical reasons (n = 62 [44.9%]), operating room logistical factors (n = 17 [12.3%]), or other reasons (n = 59 patients [42.8%]) either as a function of delayed patient presentation or failure of patients to make scheduled appointments or operations. Injury severity score (ñ = 0.45; P