title: To what extent do evaluations of facial paralysis by physicians coincide with self-evaluations by patients: comparison of the Yanagihara method, the House-Brackmann method, and self-evaluation by patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To understand to what extent evaluations of facial paralysis by physicians coincide with self-evaluations by patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective clinical study.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred thirty-one patients (68 male patients and 63 female patients) with facial paralysis were included in the study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The relationship between the evaluation of facial paralysis using the Yanagihara system, the House-Brackmann grading system, and self-evaluation by patients was studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  The paralysis scores and grade determined by physicians using the above two systems were well correlated with the self-evaluations by patients. RESULTS The evaluation of subjective symptoms differed among individuals. Even patients who were evaluated as either completely paralyzed or cured according to the Yanagihara and House-Brackmann methods did not always rate their subjective symptoms as being consistent with these scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evaluations with the two systems correlated significantly with self-evaluations by patients on the whole. These two methods of evaluation are considered appropriate not only for physicians but also for patients. In contrast, some discrepancies were observed. This point should be taken into account in routine patient care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. mikeda@med.nihon-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Hidehisa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakazato
authors.forename: Kouichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hiroshige
authors.forename: Yuzuru
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abiko
authors.forename: Mutsumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugiura
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005158:Facial Paralysis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016353:Self-Examination; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires