Factors Influencing Facial Paralysis Recovery: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Electronic Medical Records

This study aims to report on treatment outcomes and related factors in Bell's palsy patients by analyzing Electronic Medical Records (EMR) data. To assess the impact on the duration until improvement in House-Brackmann grading post-onset, we conducted an analysis of inpatient records for Bell's palsy patients admitted to a traditional Korean medicine hospital from 2018 to 2022. A total of 1049 subjects were included in the analysis. Contributing factors to a duration of more than 14 days until improvement in HB Grade included age 40 or above, male gender, an initial period of more than 7 days from onset to admission, a history of past recurrence, and the indication for adjunctive therapy. To generalize the adaptation of adjunctive traditional Korean medicine treatment indications to treatment outcomes, larger-scale studies encompassing a broader patient population will be necessary.