PURPOSE:

Investigate the risk of ear-associated diseases after zygomaticomaxillary complex (ZMC) fracture in a population-based retrospective cohort study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

This is a retrospective cohort study using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database of reimbursement claims. A total of 1,330 ZMC fracture patients and 5,320 non-ZMC fracture participants were included and newly developed ear-associated disease data were collected. A Poisson regression and multivariate Cox proportion hazard regression were used for data analysis.

RESULTS:

The ZMC fracture cohort had a higher incidence of tinnitus than non-ZMC fracture cohort (IRR 1.64, 95 % CI 1.37-1.96), particularly in younger patients (≤34 years of age; IRR 4.05, 95 % CI 3.18-5.15) and male patients (IRR 2.08, 95 % CI 1.12-3.73). ZMC fracture patients also showed a significantly increased risk of having trigeminal neuralgia [IRR 4.06, 95 % CI 3.34-4.94, adjusted HR 4.07 (1.02-16.3)]. For sudden hearing loss and peripheral vertigo, the incidence densities were higher in the ZMC fracture cohort, but these relationships were not significant in the multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses (HR 2.69, 95 % CI 0.76-9.53 for risk of sudden hearing loss; HR 1.36, 95 % CI 0.77-2.40 for risk of peripheral vertigo).

CONCLUSIONS:

The findings of the study suggest an increased risk of ear-associated diseases among individuals with ZMC fractures, particularly within 2-years follow-ups after injury. We suggest performing detailed examinations for ear-associated diseases in patients with ZMC fractures for early diagnosis and adequate treatment.