Maxillofacial injuries in moose-motor vehicle collisions versus other high-speed motor vehicle collisions

BACKGROUND:

Anecdotal experience has suggested that there is a higher frequency of maxillofacial injuries among motor vehicle collisions involving moose.

OBJECTIVES:

A retrospective cohort study design was used to investigate the incidence of various injuries resulting from moose-motor vehicle collisions versus other high-speed motor vehicle collisions.

METHODS:

A chart review was conducted among patients presenting to a Canadian regional trauma centre during the five-year period from 1996 to 2000.

RESULTS:

Fifty-seven moose-motor vehicle collisions were identified; 121 high-speed collisions were randomly selected as a control group. Demographic, collision and injury data were collected from these charts and statistically analyzed. The general demographic features of the two groups were similar. Moose collisions were typically frontal impact resulting in windshield damage. The overall injury severity was similar in both groups. Likewise, the frequency of intracranial, spinal, thoracic and extremity injuries was similar for both groups. The group involved in collisions with moose, however, was 1.8 times more likely then controls to sustain a maxillofacial injury (P=0.004) and four times more likely to sustain a maxillofacial fracture (P=0.006).

CONCLUSIONS:

Occupants of motor vehicles colliding with moose are more likely to sustain maxillofacial injuries than those involved in other types of motor vehicle collisions. It is speculated that this distribution of injuries relates to the mechanism of collision with these large mammals with a high centre of gravity.