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Published on: March 1, 2015
Post-traumatic Delayed Facial Nerve Palsy: Report of 2 Cases and Systematic Review
Antonio Daloiso1, Leonardo Franz1,2, Tiziana Mondello1
1Department of Neuroscience DNS, Otolaryngology Section, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Objective:
Delayed facial nerve palsy (dFNP) secondary to head injury is definitely uncommon. Although the mechanism of immediate facial nerve paralysis is well-studied, its delayed presentation remains debated. Given the dearth of available information, we reported herein our experience with 2 cases of posttraumatic dFNP. This systematic review aimed to evaluate all available information on dFNP and to assess treatment outcome also comparing conservatively and surgically approaches.
Data Sources:
Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were systematically screened.
Review Methods:
The protocol of this investigation was registered on PROSPERO in April 2023 and the systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses statement.
Results:
Both patients in the case studies showed a complete recovery within 2 to 3 months after the head trauma. One of them still reported a subjective taste alteration at last control. After the application of the inclusion-exclusion criteria, 9 manuscripts with adequate relevance to this topic were included in the systematic review. The study population consisted of 1971 patients with a diagnosis of posttraumatic facial nerve palsy, of which 128 with a dFNP.
Conclusions:
dFNP due to head trauma is a rarely encountered clinical entity, and optimal treatment still remains to be elucidated. Based on the reported data, it seems rational to propose a conservative approach for dFNP with steroid administration as a first line in most cases, indicating surgery in severe and/or refractory cases.
