A study of sports-related orbital fractures in Singapore

With an increased popularity of sport and active living worldwide, our study aims to explore the incidence and features of sports-related orbital fractures in Singapore. 1421 computer tomography (CT) imaging scans of the face and orbits done at the National University Hospital over a 24-month period from January 2013 and December 2014 were reviewed retrospectively for orbital fractures. We identified 483 orbital fractures of which sports injury was the fourth most common etiology (n = 65; 13.5%) after road traffic accident (n = 131; 27.1%), geriatric fall (n = 81; 16.8%) and workplace injury (n = 67; 13.9%). The three most common sport in orbital fractures were soccer (n = 20; 30.8%), bicycling (n = 11; 16.9%) and jogging (n = 8; 12.3%). The three most common fracture patterns were zygomatico-maxillary complex fractures (n = 24; 36.9%), isolated one wall blowout fractures (n = 19; 29.2%) and naso-orbito-ethmoid fractures (n = 7; 10.8%). Sports-related orbital fractures were associated with a low mean age of patients (45.9 years, range, 14-79 years), a higher proportion of males (n = 58; 89.2%) than that from geriatric falls (n = 37, 45.6%) (P < 0.01), a higher likelihood of unilaterality (n = 62; 95.4%) than that from traffic accidents (n = 99; 75.6%) (P < 0.01) and a lower likelihood of pan-facial involvement (n = 4; 6.15%) than that from traffic accident (n = 60; 45.8%) (P < 0.01). Sports-related orbital fractures are the fourth most common cause of orbital fractures. Though commonly seen in young male adults, in view of the aging population and people exercising more regularly, education of safety measures among sports users is paramount to preventing sports-related orbital fractures.