Factors Associated With Fast Recovery of Bell Palsy in Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the clinical characteristics and factors affecting the prognosis of children with Bell palsy. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 53 pediatric patients diagnosed with Bell palsy. After a mean follow-up period of 30 days, 30 patients (56%) were completely recovered, 21 patients (40%) were partially recovered, and 2 patients (4%) had not recovered. The patients in the complete recovery group were significantly younger than those in the partial and nonrecovery groups (8.8 ± 4.2 years vs 12.2 ± 3.0 years, P = .003). Patients <8 years old had a higher complete recovery rate than was found in patients >8 years old (80% vs 47%, P = .031). Sex, affected side, and early or late treatment did not influence the recovery rate. These results suggest that younger age may be a good prognostic factor affecting the fast recovery of children with Bell palsy.

Facial palsy in children: long-term outcome assessed face-to-face and follow-up revealing high recurrence rate

“…Previous studies have suggested that younger children recover better from FP than older children do [ 5 , 27 – 29 ]. In our face-to-face study, this was not true: the median age was much higher for the fully recovered children.…”

“…It is hard to get a clear picture from the previous pediatric FP studies of how the information on recurrence rates has been gained, many of them not mentioning the follow-up time period. The following numbers could be found from the literature for the recurrence: 5.6% [ 27 ], 6% [ 37 ], 6.8% [ 38 ], 6.2% [ 8 ], 9% [ 4 ]. Two studies from the same investigators have reported high recurrence numbers (25%, 10%), but the numbers seem to reflect more the type of patients that have been referred to them [ 6 , 39 ].…”

Facial Paralysis in Children

“…In children, it is recommended that oral corticosteroids be used within 3 days of the onset of symptoms. Many centers give a combination of steroid and antiviral therapy for idiopathic peripheral facial paralysis in adults [33]. However, there is no definitive evidence for treatment.…”

“…The recommended treatment regimen is 1-2 mg/kg of prednisone per day for 10 days, gradually reducing the dose [4]. Theoretically, it is thought that steroids can prevent nerve damage with their antiedematous properties [33].…”

Pediatric facial reanimation: An algorithmic approach and systematic review

“…In over 70% of patients, symptoms begin to improve within 2 weeks with complete recovery usually by 6 months. Children younger than 8 years old have a higher percentage of full recovery [ 10 , 11 ]. For patients with persistent deficits, surgery may be indicated when no identifiable motor function recovery occurs by 8 months after onset of palsy.…”