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Facial palsy: etiology, outcome and management in children

Andreas Christoph Jenke1, Lisa-Marie Stoek, Matthias Zilbauer

  • 1Children's Hospital, HELIOS Klinikum Wuppertal, Witten-Herdecke University, Heusnerstr. 40, D-42283 Wuppertal, Germany. andreas.jenke@helios-kliniken.de

European Journal of Paediatric Neurology : EJPN : Official Journal of the European Paediatric Neurology Society
|December 17, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Most children with facial palsy recover spontaneously, especially younger ones and those with neuroborreliosis. Corticosteroid treatment is not routinely recommended for pediatric facial palsy due to high spontaneous recovery rates.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Controversy exists regarding corticosteroid use for idiopathic facial palsy in children.
  • Limited data available on the natural disease progression in pediatric cases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the natural course and recovery rates of facial palsy in children.
  • To evaluate the efficacy of symptomatic treatment versus antibiotic therapy in specific cases.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective study of children under 15 with facial palsy (1998-2008).
  • Standardized diagnostic work-up and follow-up protocols were applied.
  • Treatment included symptomatic care, with intravenous antibiotics for neuroborreliosis.

Main Results:

  • 106 pediatric patients were analyzed.
  • Overall complete recovery rate was 97.6%.
  • Younger children and those with neuroborreliosis showed faster recovery.

Conclusions:

  • High spontaneous recovery rate (97.6%) suggests corticosteroids are not routinely necessary for pediatric facial palsy.
  • Further controlled trials are needed to definitively establish treatment guidelines.
Abstract

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