Citation

Hitosugi M, Takaso M, Matsumoto A, Koseki T, Furukawa S, Mizuno K. Rom. J. Leg. Med. 2016; 24(4): 261-265.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Romanian Legal Medicine Society)

DOI

10.4323/rjlm.2016.261

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The patients suffering from severe upper or middle facial injuries have to be checked-up ophthalmologically because they might receive strong forces surround the eyes. This study investigates the patterns and severity of ocular and severe upper or middle facial injuries from real-world vehicle collisions in Japan. We collected data on vehicle passengers with any ocular injuries, or upper or middle facial fractures (OIFF) who were involved in frontal collisions. Data were obtained from in-depth data records from the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (ITARDA), Japan from 1993 to 2005. Collision information and victims' medical data were reviewed. The 30 victims had a mean age of 33.0 ± 14.0 years with an equivalent barrier speed of 43.4 ± 14.6 km/h. The mean ISS was 10.4, and the face was the region with the highest AIS score (1.5). Most of the victims with OIFF (29/30) were involved in collisions without deployment of airbags. No significant differences in mean age, height, weight, ISS, AIS scores of the victim, EBS of the involved vehicles were found between victims with seatbelt and those without. Victims with OIFF need to be checked-up ophthalmologically after the collision; such treatment will likely improve their quality of life. Subsequently, conflict owing to the insufficient diagnosis and/or inappropriate management would be prevented.

Key Words: vehicle collision, ocular injury, upper or middle facial fracture, injury severity, safety device.

Language: en