Patterns and causes of Otorhinolaryngology trauma in head and neck injuries among patients admitted at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Tanzania.

Background: Otorhinolaryngology traumas are common among patients with head and neck injuries. Most of this involves the facial region and to a lesser extent ear and throat. Etiology of Otorhinolaryngology trauma includes Motor traffic accidents, falls from height, assault and sports injury. Identification of this trauma by general practitioners is challenging because Otorhinolaryngology examination requires special instruments and skills. Study aim: To determine the prevalence, etiology and distribution of otorhinolaryngology trauma among patients with head and neck injury admitted at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center from November 2017 to May 2018. Methods: : Hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center. A total of 384 patients with head and neck injuries were included. Relevant information was collected while interviewing patients and during the physical examination was noted and data was handled with SPSS version 20 and transferred to STATA version 13 for analysis. Result: Out of 384 patients, 340 (88.5%) were male, majority 197(51.3) were aged between 21 to 40 years. Out of 384 patients 238(62%) were having Otorhinolaryngology trauma, the majority are male and are between 21 to 40 years old. Motor traffic accident was a common etiology (77.3%) in this study. The maxillofacial area was the common ORL trauma site encountered (70.3%) followed by ear trauma (17.0%) and throat 2%. Conclusion: The prevalence of Otorhinolaryngology trauma among patients with head and neck injuries admitted at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre is high, motor traffic accidents were the leading etiology and maxillofacial region was a common ORL trauma site encountered.