Does perioperative glucocorticosteroid treatment correlate with disturbance in surgical wound healing after treatment of facial fractures? A retrospective study.

PURPOSE

To clarify whether perioperative glucocorticosteroid treatment used in association with repair of facial fractures predisposes to disturbance in surgical wound healing (DSWH).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Retrospective review of records of patients who had undergone open reduction, with or without ostheosynthesis, or had received reconstruction of orbital wall fractures during the 2-year period from 2003 to 2004.

RESULTS

Steroids were administered to 100 patients (35.7%) out of a total of 280. Dexamethasone was most often used, with the most common regimen being dexamethasone 10 mg every 8 hours over 16 hours, with a total dose of 30 mg. The overall DSWH rate was 3.9%. The DSWH rate for patients who had received perioperative steroids was 6.0%, and the corresponding rate for patients who did not receive steroids was 2.8%. The difference was not statistically significant. An intraoral surgical approach remained the only significant predictor to DSWH.

CONCLUSIONS

With regard to DSWH, patients undergoing operative treatment of facial fractures can safely be administered doses of 30 mg or less of perioperative glucocorticosteroids equivalent to dexamethasone.