Citation

Odhiambo WA, Guthua SW, Macigo FG, Akama MK. Int. J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg. 2002; 31(4): 374-377.

Affiliation

Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Nairobi, Kenya. Wodhis@healthnet.or.ke

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1054/ijom.2001.0199

PMID

12361069

Abstract

Although military conflicts are common on the African continent, there is a paucity of data regarding bomb-blast injuries in this region and in Kenya in particular. This paper describes the pattern of maxillofacial injuries sustained after the August 1998 bomb blast that occurred in Nairobi, Kenya. A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out using hospital-based records of 290 bomb-blast survivors admitted at the Kenyatta National Referral and Teaching Hospital in Nairobi. Using a self-designed form to record information about variables such as the sex and age of the survivors and type of location of soft- and hard-tissue injuries, it was found that of the 290 bomb-blast survivors, 78% had sustained one or more maxillofacial injuries. Soft-tissue injuries (cuts, lacerations or bruises) were the most common, constituting 61.3% of all injuries in the maxillofacial region; 27.6% had severe eye injuries, while 1.4% had fractures in the cranio-facial region. This paper concludes that the effective management of bomb-blast injuries as well as those caused by other types of disaster requires a multidisciplinary approach. The high percentage of maxillofacial injuries confirm that maxillofacial surgeons should form an integral part of this multidisciplinary team.

Language: en