Caracterización y retos en la clasificación de fracturas malares. Serie de casos en un hospital de tercer nivel en la ciudad de Cali, Colombia / Characterization and challenges in the classification of malar fractures. Case series in a third level hospital in the city of Cali, Colombia

Introducción y objetivo: Las fracturas del malar son las fracturas faciales más frecuentes después de las nasales y se asocian preferentemente a accidentes de tránsito. En nuestro medio no disponemos de trabajos que exploren las caracteriticas de esta condicion. Nuestro objetivo es caracterizar las condiciones asociadas a las fracturas malares en la ciudad de Cali, Colombia. Material y método: Estudio observacional descriptivo en pacientes que consultan en el Hospital Universitario del Valle y atendidos por Cirugía Plástica entre agosto de 2019 y marzo de 2020 con diagnóstico de fractura malar por escáner facial. Registramos las variables edad, sexo, origen, procedencia, escolaridad, ocupacion, estado civil, mecanismo de trauma, ciudad del trauma, clasificacion de fracturas del malar, lateralidad, fractura del arco cigomático y fracturas faciales asociadas. No incluimos análisis sobre el manejo de las fracturas. Resultados: Identificamos 25 fracturas malares en 24 pacientes. El 88% en mayores de 18 años; 83.3% varones; el grupo etáreo con más casos fue el de 21-30 años (25%). La causa más común fue el trauma contuso (50%), seguido por las caídas (21%) y accidentes de tránsito (21%). La fractura malar tipo 3 impactada según Knight y North fue la más común (36%). Conclusiones: Encontramos que, en nuestro estudio, el trauma contuso fue la causa más frecuente de fractura malar. Consideramos que la información obtenida puede ser util para que la autoridad local se plantee estrategias para reducir su incidencia. Al clasificar el patron de fractura no se encuentra un tipo único de fractura, sino de combinaciones, lo que nos lleva a pensar que se requiere una nueva clasificación. (AU)

Background and objective: Malar fractures have been described as the most frequent facial fractures after nasal ones. These are frequently associated with traffic accidents. In our environment we do not have studies that explore the characteristics of this condition. Our objective is to characterize the conditions associated with malar fractures in the city of Cali, Colombia. Methods: A descriptive observational study is carried out in patients who consult at the Hospital Universitario del Valle and are cared for by the Plastic Surgery Section between August 2019 and March 2020, with a diagnosis of malar fracture in the facial scan. The variables age, sex, origin, education, occupation, marital status, mechanism of trauma, city of trauma, classification of malar fractures, laterality, fracture of the zygomatic arch and associated facial fractures were recorded. Analysis of the management of fractures is not included. Results: We identified 25 malar fractures in 24 patients; 88% in people over 18 years old; 83.3% were men; the age group with the most cases were 21-30 years old (25%); the most common cause was blunt trauma (50%), followed by falls (21%) and traffic accidents (21%). Type 3 malar fracture impacted according to Knight and North was the most common (36%). Conclusions: Blunt trauma is the most frequent cause of malar fracture in our study. The information obtained can be useful for the local authority to consider strategies to reduce its incidence. When classifying the fracture pattern, a single type of fracture is often not found and, on the contrary, there were combinations which leads us to think that a new classification is required. (AU)

Understanding the relevance of comprehensive facial injury (CFI) score: Statistical analysis of overall surgical time and length of stay outcomes.

Comprehensive facial injury (CFI) score is a powerful and extremely simple scale used to grade the clinical severity of all facial injuries, and is expressed in terms of the overall surgical time needed for definitive treatment. Its statistical validation was previously reported in 2019. The aim of this study was to investigate further the link with duration of surgery, applying the score to a larger sample of patients, and to evaluate the relationship between CFI score and other extremely relevant dependent variables: length of stay (LOS) in high care units (HCU) and in intensive care units (ICU). 1406 patients with diagnosis of at least one facial bone fracture, and treated by the same team in two highly specialized trauma centers, were studied. For each patient a specific CFI score is assigned and overall surgical time, length of stay, and presence of associated injuries were recorded. Data were divided into six clusters according to CFI score: (1) 0-5, (2) 6-10, (3) 11-15, (4) 16-20, (5) 21-25, and (6) >25. Regressions between CFI clusters and duration of surgery (minutes), LOS in ICU (days), and in HCU (days) were established. In addition, the presence of associated head and/or somatovisceral injuries was analyzed and related to CFI score. Statistical analysis confirmed linear regression existing between each CFI cluster and overall surgical time (p < 0.00001), with improved significance of the results using median values of surgical duration for each cluster (p = 0.0001). It also demonstrated the existence of linear regression between all CFI clusters and LOS in HCU (p = 0.0001) and between CFI clusters 3-6 and median values of LOS in ICU (p = 0.0001). Finally, associated injuries were observed to be more frequent in high CFI score clusters, occurring in around 90% of patients with a CFI score >25 (p < 0.00001). Association of head and facial injuries play a major role in high LOS in ICU values, whereas coexistence of facial, head and somatovisceral involvement increases LOS in ICU to over twice that for single association. Surgical time and length of stay are outcomes traditionally used to assess the statistical significance of many new proposed trauma score. The strong correlation demonstrated between CFI score and each of these variables confirms its value and reliability. CFI score is proven to be an ideal, simple, informative, and reproducible tool for measuring severity of facial injuries and their clinical impact. It allows correlation with associated head and somatovisceral injuries, focusing attention on the interesting field of reciprocal influences in simultaneous, multidistrectual involvement. None of the previously proposed facial injury severity scales have offered such informative and statistically significant features.

The CFI score: Validation of a new comprehensive severity scoring system for facial injuries.

At the time of writing there is no measuring scale for the severity of facial trauma that can effectively summarize its clinical relevance, and can therefore be proposed as a definitive tool in trauma center decision making. This paper introduces a new, simple, comprehensive, and reproducible score for facial trauma, in which its severity is expressed in relation to the surgical duration necessary for definitive treatment. This parameter is identified as the most significant in expressing the commitment of care required. Statistical validation of this comprehensive facial injury (CFI) score involved a sample of 1050 patients, treated by the same team in two highly specialized trauma centers. It demonstrated a linear regression between CFI score and surgical duration, and a high degree of accuracy in forecasting overall surgical time for each type of facial injury. The descriptive capacity of CFI score, and its extremely simple use, make it a perfect tool for widespread application and for facilitating communication inside trauma centers. It also allows the classification of homogeneous groups of patients - a prerequisite for benchmarking and effective analysis of results. The CFI model is definitively proposed for the classification of facial injuries, and therefore for the integration of maxillofacial skills, within the trauma team.