Pediatric orbital floor fractures and the oculocardiac reflex: Experience from a level I trauma center.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine whether bradycardia associated with the oculocardiac reflex is a significant source of morbidity in the post injury period following orbital floor fractures in children.

Materials/methods: A retrospective review of all pediatric patients who presented to our emergency department with an orbital floor fracture from May 1, 2016 to June 1, 2018 were included. Basic demographic data was collected as well as mechanism of injury, presence of bradycardia, and time to operating room. Morbidity was based on the need for medications to treat bradycardia.

Results: Thirty-five pediatric patients with orbital floor fractures were reviewed. 6 (17.1%) patients had post injury bradycardia, with one patient requiring medication to stabilize their heart rate. There was no statistically significant difference in sex, race/ethnicity, or age in patients with or without bradycardia (p > 0.05) however there was a significant relationship between bradycardia and need for operative repair (X = 7.88, df = 1, p = 0.005). The most common mechanism of injury was motor vehicle collision (45.7%). The average time to the operating room was 145 h (6.04 days).

Conclusions: While activation of the oculocardiac reflex is a legitimate concern in the post injury period, there is unlikely to be significant morbidity due to bradycardia, and the greater concern should be for the ischemic muscle injury incurred from the fracture.