Patterns and causes of Otorhinolaryngology trauma in head and neck
injuries among patients admitted at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical
Centre, Tanzania.
Abstract
Background: Otorhinolaryngology traumas are common among
patients with head and neck injuries. Most of this involves the facial
region and to a lesser extent ear and throat. Etiology of
Otorhinolaryngology trauma includes Motor traffic accidents, falls from
height, assault and sports injury. Identification of this trauma by
general practitioners is challenging because Otorhinolaryngology
examination requires special instruments and skills. Study aim:
To determine the prevalence, etiology and distribution of
otorhinolaryngology trauma among patients with head and neck injury
admitted at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center from November 2017 to
May 2018. Methods: Hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional
study conducted at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center. A total of 384
patients with head and neck injuries were included. Relevant information
was collected while interviewing patients and during the physical
examination was noted and data was handled with SPSS version 20 and
transferred to STATA version 13 for analysis. Result. Out of
384 patients, 340 (88.5%) were male, majority 197(51.3) were aged
between 21 to 40 years. Out of 384 patients 238(62%) were having
Otorhinolaryngology trauma, the majority are male and are between 21 to
40 years old. Motor traffic accident was a common etiology (77.3%) in
this study. The maxillofacial area was the common ORL trauma site
encountered (70.3%) followed by ear trauma (17.0%) and throat 2%.
Conclusion The prevalence of Otorhinolaryngology trauma among
patients with head and neck injuries admitted at Kilimanjaro Christian
Medical Centre is high, motor traffic accidents were the leading
etiology and maxillofacial region was a common ORL trauma site
encountered.