Resumen

PEREZ RODRIGUEZ, Angel; GAMEZ RODRIGUEZ, Maximiliano Freddy; DIAZ FERNANDEZ, José Manuel  y  ROBERT RAMOS, Jacinto. Epidemiology of the maxillofacial trauma caused by bicycle accident. Rev Cubana Estomatol [online]. 2004, vol.41, n.3. ISSN 0034-7507.

A descriptive cross-sectional study on epidemiological aspects of the maxillofacial trauma caused by bicycle accidents was conducted among 194 patients with clinical or radiographic diagnosis, or both, of injuries in this region. They received attention at the Emergency Service of Maxillofacial Surgery of "Saturnino Lora" Clinical and Surgical Hospital, in Santiago de Cuba, from October 1st, 1998 to December 31st, 1999. Some of the most significant results were: the predominance of young adults aged 20-39, mainly males, among the victims, the fall as an accident modality, the collision as the cause of the highest number of severe injures and deaths, and imprudence and alcohol ingestion in working drivers. These were some of the prevailing causes in this type of accident, ocurring particularly from 4 pm to 12 am, in the street, where most of the accidents and injuries are reported. The contusions and lacerations within the soft tissues and the zygomatic, nasal and palatoalveolar fractures in the hard tissue were the predominating injury patterns.

Palabras clave : Traffic accidents; clinical diagnosis; radiography; maxillofacial traumatisms; zygomatic fractures; prevalence; descriptive epidemiology; cross-sectional studies.