Author(s)
Courtney A. Barth, BS
Shaylyn Fahey, BS MBA
Adam F. Jacobowitz, BS
Anita S. Kablinger, MD
Affiliation(s)
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine;
Abstract:
Educational Objective: At the conclusion of this presentation, the participants should be able to 1) define "intimate partner violence" (IPV); 2) identify findings concerning for IPV such as midface injuries in a young adult female; and 3) recognize differing injury patterns between IPV and assault.
Objectives: To improve recognition and screening of intimate partner violence (IPV) by comparing patterns of injury in IPV and assault. 
Study Design: Retrospective, single center cohort study. 
Methods: The TriNetX patient registry was utilized to establish two cohorts of patients receiving care at a single institution from 2009-2024. Intimate partner violence (IPV), assault and injuries were identified using ICD-10 codes. The IPV cohort included patients with concurrent IPV and facial trauma. The assault cohort included patients with concurrent assault and facial trauma. Results were tested for significance with one tailed z-tests of two proportions.   
Results: The IPV cohort included 230 patients with a mean age of 31 and 63.63% women. The assault group included 2,310 patients with a mean age of 44 and 37.66% women. 59% of patients in the IPV cohort sustained a facial fracture. Nasal bone and other midface fractures were the most prevalent fracture type in both cohorts. There was no significant difference in cranial vault fractures between the two groups. Compared to the IPV cohort, a significantly greater (p less than 0.05) proportion of open head / facial wounds (41% vs 48%), thoracic injuries (41% vs 54%), wrist / hand / finger injuries (27% vs 50%), forearm / elbow injuries (23% vs 29%), and shoulder / upper arm injuries (27% vs 48%) were seen in the assault cohort.
Conclusions: We found distinct demographic and injury classification differences between the IPV and assault cohorts. These differences can be used to further explore how we can identify, screen for, and document IPV in the setting of facial trauma.