rome and Craniocerebral-Trauma

The lack of a common agreement on the precise meaning of the term "adolescence" makes it difficult to interpret the literature regarding fractures in this age group.. The records of all patients with craniofacial trauma admitted to the Division of Maxillo-Facial Surgery of the Rome "La Sapienza" University Hospital between February 2001 and August 2004 were reviewed retrospectively. Besides the anatomical site of the fracture, the authors also reviewed in the group of adolescent fractures the cause, complications, and the safety devices employed and their effectiveness.. Of 601 patients admitted after facial or craniofacial fractures, 96 were between 11 and 19 (15.97%). The most frequent cause of fracture in this age group was motorcycle crash (39/96), followed by car crash (26/96), sporting accident (15/96), attacks (11/96), microcar crash (2/96), accidental fall (2/96), and firearm trauma (1/96). Only three patients wearing a full-face helmet suffered facial fractures; the most severe fractures with neurosurgical complications occurred in patients without a helmet; the majority of facial fractures occurred in patients wearing an open-face helmet.. It is universally agreed that the primary cause of fracture is road collisions and, although car crashes prevail in all other age groups, motorcycle crashes are more frequent in adolescents. It is necessary to emphasize the need for protective devices capable of avoiding not only neurosurgical complications but also maxillofacial fractures (full-face helmet).

Topics: Adolescent; Child; Craniocerebral Trauma; Facial Injuries; Female; Head Protective Devices; Humans; Incidence; Male; Risk Factors; Rome

The article refers to two surveillance studies, conducted the first in the city of Rome and Naples, in 1999, and the second only in Rome before and after the implementation of the new law on mandatory use of helmet (1999-2000). Personal data, accident circumstances, helmet use, others involved in accident and health data were collected. In the first study we found that only 12% of injured people wear a helmet. Head trauma seems to be influenced by helmet use, with a nearly sixfold increase among non-users (RR = 5.73), while injuries to thorax, abdomen and extremity occurred with identical frequency in helmeted and unhelmeted scooter riders. After adjusting for possible confounders, helmet use has a protective effect in respect to head injury (OR = 0.23; 95% CI: 0.026-0.482). In the pre-post legem study we found that in 1999, injured not wearing a helmet represented 95% of the total injured, while in the two periods of 2000 this percentage dropped to 2.8% and 10% respectively. The number of accidents increased in the second period of 2000, but the number of lesions decreased, especially those affecting head (12.43% in 1999, 7.8% e 3.85% in the first and second period of 2000), and a sensible reduction in the use of head imaging diagnostics was also recorded. Mean length of stay for injured scooter riders was 7.1 days in 1999, 8.7 days in the first period of 2000, and 5.6 days in the second period of 2000. The surveillance studies confirmed that helmet use has a protective effect in all the periods considered reducing the probability of head trauma by 3-4 times.

Topics: Accidents, Traffic; Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Craniocerebral Trauma; Female; Head Protective Devices; Humans; Italy; Male; Middle Aged; Motorcycles; Rome; Sex Factors