Current practice in provision of alcohol assessment and support for patients following alcohol related facial fractures.

Objectives: The algorithm for maxillofacial trauma management is well defined; however, provision of alcohol assessment for patients after trauma is not widely practiced. This study aims to investigate the rate of alcohol assessment achieved within the demographic characteristics of patients with facial trauma and the circumstances where this intervention was implemented.

Study Design: This study retrospectively examined the Victorian Admitted Episodes Data Set (VAED) from 2004 to 2013.

Psychosocial Support Following Maxillofacial Trauma and its Impact on Trauma Recurrence.

Background: Injuries sustained to the maxillofacial region can result in significant physical trauma and long lasting psychosocial impairment. Maxillofacial trauma has been reported in literature to be a potentially recurrent disease. Patients who suffer maxillofacial trauma can benefit from psychological support.

Emergency Physician Screening and Management of Trauma Patients with Alcohol Involvement.

Background: Alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) in trauma patients has been reported in literature to be effective in changing harmful drinking patterns and injury recurrence. Despite good evidence that SBI can benefit patients and provide a more holistic care, it is not routinely implemented in acute medical settings in Australia, in particular emergency departments (EDs).

Objective: This paper aims to assess the knowledge, confidence, and practice of alcohol SBI in trauma patients by emergency physicians throughout Australia and New Zealand through an online survey.

Should alcohol screening be a routine practice in alcohol-related facial trauma care? A narrative review.

The link between alcohol intoxication and Emergency Department (ED) attendance for management of alcohol-related injuries has been well documented. The acute settings such as ED and surgical wards may not be the most appropriate environment for treatment of chronic conditions, but traumatic episode presentation to ED may offer the most opportunistic time to focus on screening against harmful alcohol use in order to provide timely feedback and support. Although ED provides an opportunity to identify patients with alcohol problems, the initial challenge is finding suitable ways to identify and screen affected patients.

Temporal distribution of alcohol related facial fractures.

Objectives: This study aimed to address 2 important aspects of temporal pattern in alcohol-related facial fractures: (1) comparison of temporal pattern of alcohol-related facial fracture (alcohol group) presentation with non-alcohol-related fracture (non-alcohol group) presentation; (2) temporal pattern of patient demographic characteristics, injury characteristics, and surgical management in the alcohol group presentation.

Study Design: This study retrospectively examined the Victorian admitted episodes data set (VAED) for the years 2010 to 2013. VAED is a standardized set of data collected during all hospital presentations in Victoria.

Would brief alcohol intervention be helpful in facial trauma patients?A Narrative Review.

Facial trauma is commonly associated with excessive consumption of alcohol and is often associated with interpersonal violence or motor vehicle accidents. Alcohol-related trauma presentation to hospitals causes a major service burden, and there have been efforts to reduce such trauma load with educational programs and social support. Brief alcohol intervention (BAI) in an acute setting (emergency department or trauma centre) has been shown as an effective means to reduce future alcohol intake and the incidence of future alcohol-related injuries, especially in the period immediately following injuries.

Brief alcohol intervention in alcohol involved facial fracture patients-a survey of patient attitudes to screening and intervention.

Purpose: Alcohol intoxication is an important contributor to traumatic facial injuries. The period following injuries afford clinicians a useful window of opportunity to provide alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) which may affect changes in patients' future drinking behaviour. Although SBI has been reported to decrease at risk drinking and potentially trauma recurrence, it is not routinely utilised in most clinical settings in the world.

Characteristics of Alcohol-Related Facial Fractures.

Purpose: Excessive indulgence in alcohol is a key causative factor in facial fractures especially in settings of interpersonal violence (IPV) and motor vehicle accidents. This study aims to explore characteristics of alcohol-involved facial fractures in the state of Victoria, Australia, over a 10-year period.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study analyzed data from the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset between 2004 and 2014; the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset is a standardized database reported by all Victorian hospitals for every admission.

An Unusual Presentation of Stafne Bone Cyst.

Stafne bone cyst is a rare mandibular defect. It is a developmental abnormality that commonly presents as a small, well demarcated, and asymptomatic radiolucency seen at the angle of the mandible below the mandibular canal. There are usually no clinical signs nor symptoms.

Addressing alcohol-related harms within maxillofacial trauma practice.

Purpose: A brief intervention, conducted in the short-term care setting after an alcohol-related injury, has been reported to be highly beneficial in reducing the risk of reinjury and in reducing the subsequent level of alcohol consumption. This project aimed to understand Australasian oral and maxillofacial surgeons' attitudes, knowledge, and skills in alcohol screening and brief intervention within short-term care settings for patients admitted with facial trauma.

Materials And Methods: A Web-based survey was made available to all members of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (200 to 250 members), promoted through a number of e-mail bulletins sent by the association to all members.

Cardiovascular imaging of the pregnant patient.

Objective: The purpose of this review is to describe the selection and methods of imaging of pregnant women with cardiovascular conditions.

Conclusion: Common cardiovascular conditions may occur in 1% of all pregnant women. The selection and methods of imaging studies require thoughtful planning.

To shield or not to shield: application of bismuth breast shields.

Objective: The purposes of this essay are to describe the effects of bismuth breast shielding on radiation exposure of the breast and posterior chest wall and to present arguments for and against the use of breast shields.

Conclusion: Breast tissue may receive substantial radiation doses during CT examinations. Bismuth shields effectively reduce breast exposure at the expense of increased noise and artifacts.

Features of odontogenic infections in hospitalised and non-hospitalised settings.

Objective: To compare the sociodemographic and clinical features of odontogenic infections between hospitalised and non-hospitalised adult patients.

Methods: The two study groups consisted of inpatients (IP) and outpatients (OP) with odontogenic infections who were treated at Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand. Clinical and sociodemographic data were collected retrospectively from patients' hospital records.

Maxillofacial fractures sustained by unmounted equestrians.

Facial injuries caused by horses are relatively common among riding enthusiasts, but little is known about the nature of maxillofacial fractures sustained by those not mounted. We collected data on patients' characteristics, fractures sites, mechanisms of injury, and treatment of these fractures from the departmental records of the oral and maxillofacial unit at Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand between 1996 and 2008. Of 49 patients with equine-related facial fractures, 35 (mean (SD) age 35.

Interpersonal violence and facial fractures.

Purpose: Interpersonal violence is a major health hazard that contributes to the high volume of trauma seen in the emergency department. It is also one of the principal causes of maxillofacial fractures.

Materials And Methods: The present study was a retrospective analysis of patients referred to, and treated at, the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Unit at Christchurch Hospital during an 11-year period (1996 to 2006).

Zygomatic fractures presenting to a tertiary trauma centre, 1996-2006.

The zygoma occupies an anatomically prominent position in the face. Fracture of the zygoma is a common facial injury and can be associated with significant functional deficit and cosmetic disfigurement. From a database of patients presenting to a tertiary trauma centre during an 11-year period, 941 individuals with zygomatic fractures were identified.

Oral white lesions: pitfalls of diagnosis.

General practitioners are often the first point of contact for patients with oral white lesions, which represent a wide spectrum of diagnoses of varying seriousness. Some clinical features are classical and others overlap between different diagnoses; they should be correlated with patient history, and sometimes other investigations, for diagnosis. Leukoplakia is a clinical term, and is a diagnosis of exclusion with no histopathological connotation.

Retrospective review of Stickler syndrome patients with cleft palate 1997-2004.

Background: Stickler syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder estimated to affect approximately 1/7500 newborns. It is diagnosed clinically and, at present, there is no consensus on a minimal clinical diagnostic criterion. The aim of this series was to evaluate the outcome of a group of cleft palate children with Stickler syndrome in a large tertiary children's hospital in New South Wales.

Role of alcohol in maxillofacial fractures.

Background: Excessive consumption of alcohol results in impaired judgement and inappropriate behaviour, and is often a major contributor to interpersonal violence and motor vehicle accidents. This study examines the experience of a tertiary centre in alcohol-related facial fractures.

Methods: A retrospective database of patients presenting to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Service at Christchurch Hospital (New Zealand) during an 11-year period was reviewed.

Sports-related maxillofacial fractures over an 11-year period.

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence, anatomic sites, and management of sports-related maxillofacial fractures in New Zealand.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective analysis of 561 patients presenting with sports-related maxillofacial fractures between 1996 and 2006 was conducted. Variables analyzed included sociodemographic data, cause of injury, site of fracture, and method of treatment.

A case of recurrent pyogenic granuloma.

Dental practitioners are usually the first health professionals to examine and diagnose patients with oral pyogenic granuloma. Usually of traumatic origin, the lesion results from an overly aggressive immune response. Despite several accepted methods of treatment, recurrence is common.

Oromandibular dystonia.

Oromandibular dystonia (OMD) is a rare neuromuscular disorder characterized by involuntary repetitive muscular contraction affecting different parts of the oromandibular region. Its various physical manifestations can be extremely debilitating and socially disabling to affected patients. To date, there is no commonly accepted set of diagnostic criteria nor well-defined management pathways.

Comparison between interpersonal violence and motor vehicle accidents in the aetiology of maxillofacial fractures.

Background: Maxillofacial fractures commonly present to the emergency department, interpersonal violence (IPV) and motor vehicle accidents (MVA) being two of the main causes. There is a changing trend in these two aetiologies, which is reflected in a change in demographics, the pattern of fractures and the treatment of maxillofacial fractures.

Methods: A prospective database of patients presenting to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery service at Christchurch Hospital during an 11-year period was reviewed.

Spinal cord compression in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common malignancy arising in the oral cavity. It can cause severe morbidity and mortality due to its propensity to metastasis. Despite the likelihood of distant metastases, commonly to the lungs, there is little report in the literature of metastatic spread to the spinal vertebrae from oral SCC with secondary spinal cord compression.