Abstract

BRASILEIRO, Bernardo Ferreira; VIEIRA, Jefferson Moura  and  SILVEIRA, Carlos Emanoel Silva da. Evaluation of facial injuries from motorcycle accidents in Aracaju/SE. Rev. cir. traumatol. buco-maxilo-fac. [online]. 2010, vol.10, n.2, pp. 97-104. ISSN 1808-5210.

Several factors may be related to the etiology of motorcycle accidents, especially the socio-cultural characteristics of the population studied. Thus, a prospective, cross-sectional and observational study was conducted in order to analyze injuries from motorcycle accidents in the Hospital de Urgência de Sergipe (HUSE) in the years 2008 and 2009. The study comprised 145 patients, information being collected on personal data, cause of accident and facial and other body regions affected. There was a prevalence of males (87.6%), dark-skinned individuals (71.7%) and ages ranging from 21 to 30 years (46.2%). The majority of accidents occurred at night in dry weather (73.1%), due to loss of balance (78.6%). Among the injuries of soft tissue, there was a predominance of lacerations (72.4%). Dento-alveolar injuries were observed in 16.6% of the patients and fractures in 25.5% of the injured patients. It was observed that a large number of patients had not been wearing a helmet, were drunk and without a license for riding a motorcycle. These data highlight the need for greater attention to the education of riders, better monitoring and enforcement of traffic laws and greater public exposure of the consequences of accidents in order to reduce the quantity and severity of injuries resulting from this means of transport.

Keywords : Facial Injuries [Epidemiolgy]; Maxillofacial Fractures; Accidents; Traffic.