Health-related quality of life in Nigerian patients following maxillofacial and orthopedic injuries: A comparative study

Background: Less attention has been focused on patient psychological status and quality of life (QoL) following maxillofacial and orthopedic trauma, especially in underdeveloped countries, hence need for such studies. Patients and Methods: This was a prospective, repeated measure design study of recruited participants in Obafemi Awolowo University teaching hospital, Ile-Ife, State of Osun, Nigeria. A total of 160 participants (80 with maxillofacial bone fracture and 80 with long bone fractures) had repeated review follow-ups within 1 week of arrival in the hospital (Time 1), 4–8 weeks after initial contact (Time 2), and 10–12 weeks thereafter (Time 3), using WHO HRQoL-Bref questionnaire. Results: Road traffic accident remained the main cause of injury in both groups of participants (85% in the maxillofacial fracture and 91.5% in long bone fracture patients). Most were male (80% in facial injured and 72% in long bone fracture patients). Majority of the patients were young adult (75% in the maxillofacial fracture and 55% in the long bone patient). QoL was poor in all domains in both groups. However, there were statistically significant differences between the two groups when compared in the physical health domain at Time 1 (P = 0.006), psychological health domain at Time 2 (P = 0.017), and both physical and psychological health domains at Time 3. Conclusions: Long bone fracture group had poorer QoL scores than the maxillofacial fracture group in some domains of the QoL instrument. Management of these injuries should integrate multidisciplinary care that will address QoL and psychological concerns of patients.