The Annals of otology, rhinology, and laryngology
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Ann. Otol. Rhinol. Laryngol. · Aug 2016
Adding Injury to Insult: A National Analysis of Combat Sport-Related Facial Injury.
To estimate the incidence of patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) for facial trauma sustained from participation in combat sports and evaluate injury patterns and patient demographics. ⋯ The significant number of ED visits resulted from combat sports facial trauma, reinforcing the importance of familiarity with injury patterns among practitioners managing facial trauma. As most injuries involve individuals younger than 19 despite guidelines suggesting children and adolescents avoid combat sports, these findings may be used for patient education and encouragement of the use of personal protective equipment. Furthermore, injury patterns reported in this analysis may serve as an adjunct for enhancing clinical history taking and physical examination.