Clinical and Médico-Legal Aspect of Traumatism Bucco-Dental Injuries in Yaounde-Cameroon
Int J Dent Oral Care
The Main Objective: of the study was to describe the socio-demographic, clinical, medico-legal, therapeutic and prognostic characteristics of traumatic oral lesions in patients presenting to health facilities in Yaoundé.
Methods: We conducted a descriptive, prospective, cross-sectional study for 7 months during 2021, in consenting patients, with traumatic dental lesions in four secondary and tertiary health facilities in Yaoundé. The data was collected, processed, and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23.0 software® for Windows®.
Results: Of the 129 patients included, 70.54% were male. The median age was 29.57±14.73 years. Single people accounted for 67.44%. People working in the private sector and those with a secondary education represented 48.84% and 44.96% respectively. The emergency department of the selected hospitals received 51.00% of the patients with traumatic oral injuries. Clinically, patients with head and neck injuries and those with isolated oral trauma had 72.09% and 22.48% respectively. Of 183 traumatized teeth, 79.24% were incisors. About 56.59% of the patients were hospitalised, while 75.20% underwent radiological examination. In total, 73.64% had undergone a surgical procedure. About 54.26% of the cases were victims of road traffic accidents (MVA). From a medico-legal point of view, 75.97% of the patients suffered an involuntary trauma. The average total temporary disability was 21.97 days ± 17.47 days (0-45 days). The 5-level pain scale was used and 37.21% of our population had a pain grade of 5. Only 16.28% (21) of the cases received a documented forensic assessment. Of the participants, 13.18% (17) expressed their intention to seek legal compensation for the trauma they suffered. Almost 76.74% (99) of the cases had a combination of functional impotence and cosmetic damage as a result of the traumatic injury. A total of 68.97% (60) of the cases had received a TIW≥30 days for involuntary trauma while, 68.00% (17) received a TIW<8 days for voluntary trauma
Conclusion: The oral trauma profile in Yaoundé is similar to many studies worldwide. Documented forensic assessment of damage to the orofacial sphere is not systematic and is mostly done at the request of the patients.
