Does orbital fracture increase the risk of dry eye syndrome?

Orbital fracture increases the risk of developing dry eye syndrome, according to a study.

In this Taiwan national cohort study, 46,179 participants were enrolled in the study group and 184,716 in the control groups. Participants in the study group were age- and gender-matched to 4 participants without orbital fracture in the control group.

Participants in the study group were more likely to develop dry eye syndrome (0.17%) compared to participants in the control group (0.11%), with a 4.917-fold increased risk compared to control participants, according to Multivariate Cox regression analysis. Orbital roof fracture was linked with a greater risk of developing dry eye syndrome.

“Early recognition by thorough examinations with raised awareness in the clinical setting could preserve visual function and prevent further complications,” the authors concluded.

Reference
Hsu CY, Tu JC, Chung CH, et al. Risk of dry eye syndrome in patients with orbital fracture: A nationwide population-based cohort study. Healthcare (Basel). 2021;9(5):605. doi: 10.3390/healthcare9050605.