Alcohol Intoxication-Related Soft Tissue Injuries in Patients With Orbital Wall Fractures

To date, involvement of alcohol intoxication (AI) in the occurrence of traumatic bone injuries has been well described in the literature. Still, however, there is a paucity of data regarding its involvement with soft tissue injuries in the oral and maxillofacial region. Considering that it is one of the significant predisposing factors that are involved in facial bone fractures in assault victims, we have speculated that they are also vulnerable to soft tissue injuries. We therefore examined the incidence, type and, pattern of soft tissue injuries in patients with trauma owing to the AI in a single-institution setting.

A total of 488 patients underwent reconstructive surgery for orbital wall fracture at our medical institution between 2012 and 2017. Of these, 162 eligible patients were enrolled in the present study; they were divided into 2 groups (the AI group and the control group) based on a history of the AI. Then, we compared baseline and clinical characteristics, including the incidence, type, and pattern of soft tissue injury, between the 2 groups.

In our series, assault was the most common cause of traumatic injuries. We found that the patients with AI were at increased risks of preoperatively developing subconjunctival hemorrhage and diplopia and postoperatively developing infraorbital nerve (ION) hypesthesia.

In conclusion, our results indicate that the AI is closely associated with the preoperative risks of subconjunctival hemorrhage and diplopia and the postoperative risks of ION hypesthesia. But further large-scale, multicenter studies are warranted to establish our results.