Maxillofacial injuries among Brazilian children and adolescents victims of traffic accidents

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the prevalence of morbidity due to traffic accidents in children and adolescents and its relationship with maxillofacial injuries in the city of Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil. METHODS: This cross-sectional study analyzed 533 forensic reports of individuals aged 0-19 years, victims of external causes in Campina Grande, Brazil, in 2013. Data were collected through a form containing variables sex, age, day of week, time, type of traffic accident, injured body region, presence of fractures, maxillofacial and oral cavity injuries. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS) was used for data analysis. Prevalence ratios and confidence intervals at 95% were estimated with the chi-square test. RESULTS: There was predominance of males (75.0%) aged 15-19 years (65.0%), with association between sex and occurrence of traffic accidents (p