Analysis of Frontal Sinus Fracture Management and Resource Utilization

Frontal sinus fractures require a large amount of force and often occur in the context of a major trauma. Many patients with these fractures are assessed in an emergent setting where stabilization takes precedence. Delayed diagnosis and treatment of a sinus fracture can result in life-threatening conditions, such as a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. A number of different treatment algorithms have been proposed, highlighting the complexity of frontal sinus fracture management. The goal of this study is to determine how patients with frontal sinus fractures were treated at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and what complications arose as a result of the fracture and subsequent management strategy. Over 9 years, there were 69 reported cases. A total of 63 of these occurred in males (91.3%) versus 6 (8.7%) in females. The majority occurred after a motor vehicle collision (MVC) or a motorcycle collision (MCC). A total of 51 cases were unilateral fractures and 18 were bilateral fractures. Five patients (7.2%) had CSF leakage and 64 (92.8%) did not have CSF leakage. One patient with CSF leakage (20.0%) was managed operatively. Of the 64 patients without CSF leakage, 4 (6.3%) were managed operatively. All operative patients were managed by cranialization. Complications included vision changes, facial pressure, anosmia, facial paresthesia, pneumocephalus, and mucus retention cysts. Vision changes were the most common complication. There did not appear to be any significant difference in complications between the CSF leakage groups, indicating that non-operative management remains a viable option in the management of frontal sinus fractures.