Craniomaxillofacial trauma
What is the Impact of the 2020 Coronavirus Lockdown on Maxillofacial Trauma?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joms.2021.01.010Get rights and content

Purpose

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) or COVID-19 pandemic first arrived in Nashville, Tennessee, in early March 2020. Soon after, stay-at-home orders were initiated. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of a 7-week lockdown on maxillofacial trauma volume at TriStar Skyline Medical Center, a level II trauma center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Patients and Methods

The investigator designed a retrospective cohort study and enrolled a sample of patients who presented for evaluation of maxillofacial trauma between March 23 and May 11 in the years 2019 and 2020. The primary predictor variable was evaluation of injures during the 2020 lockdown period or the same control period in 2019. The primary outcome variable was injury volume. Additional variables including demographic information, etiology, anatomic location, and initial disposition were evaluated. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were computed, with statistical significance set at P < .05.

Results

The study sample showed a 35.6% reduction in patients seen during the 2020 lockdown (n = 38) compared with 2019 (n = 59, P = .15). The proportion of male to female trauma patients increased during the lockdown period from 6.6:1 (n = 33 male, n = 5 female) in 2020 compared with 2.3:1 (n = 41 male, n = 18 female) in 2019 (P = .049). The number of assaults decreased by 65.2% (P = .22). The percentage of patients seen on an outpatient basis decreased from 27.1% (n = 16) to 5.3% (n = 2, P = .007) during the lockdown period.

Conclusions

The initial 7-week lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a decrease in patients with maxillofacial trauma. The effect of the stay-at-home orders with resultant social distancing, has shown a decrease in maxillofacial trauma due to interpersonal violence.

Section snippets

Study Design and Sample

To address the research purpose, the investigator designed and implemented a retrospective cohort study. The study sample was composed of patients who presented to TriStar Skyline Medical Center, in Nashville, Tennessee. The study population was composed of all patients presenting for evaluation and management of maxillofacial trauma during the 2020 lockdown period and the same period during 2019. The periods were selected to capture patients who presented when the lockdown was (comparison

Results

During the study period, 836 trauma patients presented to TriStar Skyline Medical Center. The final study sample was composed of 97 patients with maxillofacial injuries who met the inclusion criteria. The number of patients in the 2020 cohort (n = 38) was 35.6% lower than the 2019 cohort (n = 59, P = .15).

Descriptive and analytic statistics are presented in Table 1. Most patients were men (86.8% in 2020 and 69.5% in 2019, P = .049). The average age of patients seen during the lockdown was 45.7

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of the regional lockdown during the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic on the epidemiology of maxillofacial trauma presenting to a level II trauma center located in Nashville, Tennessee. The author hypothesized that the number of maxillofacial injuries would decrease along with the number of maxillofacial injuries caused by interpersonal violence as the result of the “Safer at Home Order.” The specific aim of the study was to quantify

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Conflict of Interest Disclosure: Dr. Steven Press is a speaker for DePuy Synthes.

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