Is Maxillofacial Gunshot Wound Location Associated With Operative Intervention?

Purpose: Gunshot wound (GSW) injuries are an important public health concern in the United States. The study purpose was to measure the association between GSW location and need for operative treat-ment. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. Sample consisted of all patients treated for maxillofacial gunshot wound injuries at Cook County Health from 2008 to 2018. The sample data were collected through a retrospective charts review and review of computed tomography imaging. The predictor vari-able was the region of the face involved with the GSW and it was divided into 3 levels, upper face (UF), middle face (MF), and lower face (LF). The outcome variable was whether operative intervention was rendered or not (operative vs no intervention). Other variables of interest collected included patient de-mographics, the type of surgical intervention, disposition (home vs rehab/morgue), rate of intracranial injury, and need for blood transfusion. Data analysis was performed using Chi-square for proportions and relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: A total of 180 patients were identified to have sustained GSW injuries to the face during above-mentioned time frame. Of those, 120 patients had isolated GSW injuries with no other organs involvement. The median age was 25 years. Majority of the patients were males (94%). The involved facial region ap-peared to influence the need for operative management and this reached statistical significance (Chi-square 22.703, P < .001). GSW injuries to LF were 2.94 times more likely to require operative intervention than injuries to the MF (RR = 2.94, 95% CI = 1.625-5.327). Injuries of the UF were 2 times more likely to require operative intervention than injuries of the MF (RR = 2.03, 95% CI 1.023-4.008). Injuries to the UF were more likely to be associated with intracranial injuries (Chi-square = 20.522, P < .001). Conclusions: In patients with facial GSW injuries, there is an association between injury location and the need for operative intervention. Injuries to the LF were most likely to require surgical intervention fol-lowed by the UF and MF, respectively. (c) 2022 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons J Oral Maxillofac Surg 81:434-440, 2023