Management Strategies for Geriatric Maxillofacial Fractures: An Anthropometric and Clinical Study in Taiwan

BACKGROUND: Geriatric maxillofacial trauma has become an increasingly pressing clinical issue in Taiwan because of increased life expectancy.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to investigate the anthropometric changes and the posttrauma outcomes in the aging population and to optimize the management strategies for geriatric facial fractures.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2015 to 2020, a total of 30 patients 65 years or older were identified to have suffered from maxillofacial fractures and presented at the emergency department of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH). These patients were categorized into group III, representing the elderly group. Two other groups (group I, age 18-40 years; group II, age 41-64 years) of patients were categorized based on their age. After applying propensity score matching to reduce bias caused by a large case number difference, patient demographics, anthropometric data, and management methods were compared and analyzed.

RESULTS: Among 30 patients 65 years or older who met the inclusion criteria, the mean age of the matched group III was 77.31 ± 14.87 years, and the mean number of retained teeth was 11.77 (range, 3-20 teeth). The elderly patients had a significantly lower number of retained teeth (group I vs group II vs group III, 27.3 vs 25.23 vs 11.77; P < 0.001). Anthropometric data showed that facial bone structure degenerated significantly with advancing age. Outcome analysis demonstrated that falls accounted for 43.3% of injury mechanisms in the elderly group, followed by motorcycle accidents (30%) and car accidents (23.3%). Nineteen elderly patients (63%) received nonsurgical management. On the other hand, 86.7% of cases in the other 2 age groups underwent surgery. The average numbers of total hospital and intensive care unit stays in group III patients were 16.9 (range, 3-49 days) and 4.57 (range, 0-47 days), which was significantly longer than the other 2 age groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that not only surgery is feasible for elderly patients with facial fractures, but an acceptable result is often obtainable. However, an eventful course, including extended hospital/intensive care unit stays and an increased risk of associated injuries and complications, may be expected.