Prevalence and pattern of traumatic orofacial injuries in Kabaddi players in Delhi-NCR region

Background/Aim: Contact-sports are known to have higher risk of orofacial injuries due to the bodily contact with other players or equipment. Kabaddi is a traditional contact-sport of India that has gained an international recognition. There is a paucity of data regarding prevalence of traumatic dental and orofacial injuries among the Kabaddi players. Hence this study aimed to assess the prevalence, distribution and pattern of orofacial injuries among the Kabaddi players of Delhi and NCR region.Material and Methods: This observational cross-sectional study was designed as per the best practices of epidemiology and reported as per the STROBE guidelines. The sample size was calculated as 440 and comprised of 10-18 years old players of either gender. Cluster random sampling was performed and the information was collected by one-calibrated evaluator by using a self-designed proforma. The injuries were classified as per standard criteria and the description of each episode was recorded. Statistical anal-ysis was performed using the Statistical software-STATA-version-14(StataCorpLLC,Texas,USA). Results: Total of 393 players were included in the study (Males-295, Females-98) with majority of them between 15 and 18 years of age. The prevalence of traumatic episode was 49.11% and the prevalence orofacial-trauma was 44.02%.The frequency of extraoral-injuries was higher when compared to the intrao-ral injuries, with orbit(26.67%) being the commonest-site. Most of the players had not received adequate emergency treatment in the first incident which had improved in the second.Conclusions: The prevalence of traumatic orofacial injuries in 10-18 years old Kabaddi players of Delhi -NCR region was found to be 44.02% while the prevalence of traumatic episodes was 49.11%. The preva-lence of dental injuries was 5.1%. Majority of the players perceived that Kabaddi can lead to orofacial-injuries.(c) 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.