Alcohol Related Facial Injuries

Aim: Consumption of alcohol plays a key role in traumatic injuries The capacity of alcohol to distort human cognitive ability and reasoning makes it an important factor in the causation of motor vehicle and interpersonal violence-related injuries The aim of this study was to investigate the role of alcohol in severe facial injuries in settings of motor vehicular crashes and interpersonal violence.

Study Design: A prospective study of 118 patients who suffered alcohol-related facial injuries.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the University of Uyo teaching hospital Uyo, Nigeria over a 5-year period, from January 2007 to January 2021.

Methodology: The variables analyzed included socio demographics, nature of injury and sites of injuries. Alcohol Use Disturbance Identification Test (AUDIT test) was used to identify risks and damages of alcohol use and dependence. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 21.0. Multivariate analysis was carried out using binary logistic regression analysis, P = 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results: A total of 118 patients suffered alcohol-related facial injuries in the period of the study. There were 97 males and 21 females, giving a male to female ratio of 4:1 The mean age of the patients’ population was 43 .The commonest age range involved in alcohol-related facial injuries was 29-38 years. Road traffic injuries were the commonest cause of facial injuries. Medium risk alcohol consumption and male gender were identified as risk factors for moderate and severe injuries as well as for avulsive injuries.

Conclusion: Alcohol-related injuries often turn out severe, and the identifiable risk factors include male gender, high-risk alcohol consumption and road traffic crashes.