@article{ref1,
title="A demographic analysis of craniomaxillofacial trauma in the era of COVID-19",
journal="Craniomaxillofacial trauma and reconstruction",
year="2022",
author="Clark, Robert C. and Desai, Bijal and Davidson, Edward H.",
volume="15",
number="4",
pages="288-294",
abstract="STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: The challenges of COVID-19 could magnify socioeconomic vulnerability for craniomaxillofacial (CMF) trauma. This study compares subjects who presented with CMF fractures to a regional healthcare system during the pandemic with those in 2019. We hypothesized societal circumstances of 2020 would correlate with disproportionately more CMF fractures in vulnerable patients compared to pre-pandemic trends. <br><br>METHODS: An IRB approved retrospective study of CMF fracture presentations in 2019 and 2020 was performed. Demographics, injury details, and management details were collected. A residence-based poverty index was calculated for each subject utilizing census data. Pre-pandemic and pandemic cases were compared to identify differences between cohorts. <br><br>RESULTS: A large decrease in presentations was noted between pre-pandemic and pandemic cohorts. There was significantly greater poverty the pre-pandemic cohort as compared to the pandemic cohort (P =.026). Overall, there was a significant correlation between higher poverty and violent MOI (P <.001). This association was maintained pre-pandemic, (P =.001) but was insignificant in the pandemic cohort (P =.108). Difference between cohorts with respect to violent injury was non-significant (P =.559) with non-significant difference in demographics including age (P =.390), place of injury (P =.136), employment status (P =.905), insurance status (P =.580), marital status (P =.711), ethnicity (P =.068), and gender (P =.656). Management was not significantly different between cohorts including percent hospital admission (P =.396), surgical intervention (P =.120), and time to operation (P =.109). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to our hypothesis, this analysis indicates that the societal changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic did not magnify vulnerable populations. Some changes were noted including in volume of presentation, demographic distribution, and injury detail.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1943-3875",
doi="10.1177/19433875211047037",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/19433875211047037"
}