Risk of Ischemic Stroke After a Facial Bone Fracture in Elderly Patients

Ischemic stroke is a major disease in our aging society, and the incidence of facial bone fractures among the elderly has increased. However, there have been few studies evaluating stroke after facial bone fractures. The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency and risk of stroke after facial bone fractures.

This study included patients 65 years or older with a diagnosis of facial bone fracture (study group) and patients who had previously undergone plastic surgery procedures such as mass excisions or cosmetic surgery (control group) from 2006 to 2015. We evaluated the incidence of new-onset ischemic stroke and its associated risk factors during a 1-year follow-up period. Patients were excluded if they had a history of stroke or if they were lost to follow-up during the course of the study period.

There were no demographic differences between the 2 groups except in age. According to the hazard ratio, the study group had a significantly higher risk of ischemic stroke than did the control group during the follow-up period. There was an identified interaction between the sexes. Only the women in our study group had an increased risk of ischemic stroke that was statistically significant. After adjusting for the risk factors, the increased stroke risk in patients in the study group persisted at about the same level as in the unadjusted analysis. Regarding the stroke-free survival rates, the curve also showed that the study group had a significantly lower 1-year stroke-free survival rate.

Facial bone fractures are associated with increased risk of stroke at 1-year follow-up among elderly patients, particularly women.