INTRODUCTION
Trauma is a major health care problem in present day society. In spite of the high rates of morbidity and mortality associated with trauma, it is still not regarded as a major disease.1 Maxillofacial trauma has become a major point in focus, owing to its increasing incidence and the multispecialty management which it dictates. Maxillofacial injuries, either with or without associated systemic injuries, account for a large number of hospital admissions, especially through the emergency department.2-4 While the specialty of oral and maxillofacial (OMF) surgery is most commonly involved in diagnosis and treatment of maxillofacial traumatic injuries, several other specialties are also involved in the comprehensive management of the…show more content… The “cost of hospitalization” was calculated as the total expenditure incurred in Indian rupees (INR) by the patient for treatment of the maxillofacial injury including pre-treatment investigations, surgical procedures and consumables, and post-treatment medication and therapy. The number of days from admission until discharge of the patient was considered as the “duration of hospitalization”.
Statistical analysis
All the collected data were statistically analyzed using statistical software (IBM SPSS Statistics Version 20). The statistical analysis was focused on descriptive analysis of demographic data, trauma scores, hospitalization cost and duration of hospitalization. Pearson’s correlation and paired samples t-test were done to identify statistical association between the different variables. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically…show more content… Most of the reported studies have compared maxillofacial injury scores to surrogate markers of injury severity such as days of hospitalization, treatment cost, medical resources consumption,5 operating room expenditure,3 duration of surgery, numbers of plates and screws,11 cost of implants,2 sensori-neural deficit, indications for hospitalization, pain during follow up and post-operative complications.18
Kumar et al.16 based on their study on Indian road traffic accident (RTA) victims, suggested the increasing need for financial assistance mechanisms to help patients. While their report was indicative of the economic impact of traumatic injuries in general, there are no reported studies evaluating the economic and financial impact of maxillofacial traumatic injuries on the