title: Facial nerve paralysis in children: is it as benign as supposed?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Facial nerve paralysis is a common disease in children. Most of the patients show complete recovery. This single-center cohort study exclusively included pediatric patients to investigate the outcome of all patients with facial nerve palsy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospital records of all the patients admitted to the Children's Hospital in Linz between January 2005 and December 2010 with facial nerve paralysis were reviewed. Patients with peripheral facial nerve palsy were invited for clinical reevaluation between July 2011 and October 2011. The House-Brackmann score was used for reassessment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-six patients agreed to return for an additional clinical reevaluation. Study participants were divided in two groups according to their House-Brackmann scores: group 1 (n = 44), with a score <2 were considered good outcomes, and group 2 (n = 12), with a score ≥ 2 showed persistent mild to moderate dysfunction of the facial nerve and were considered moderate outcomes. The most important finding was the difference of the reported time to remission (P = 0.003) between the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study indicate that facial paralysis in children is not as benign as supposed. It is suggested that patients and their guardians be informed that a slight face asymmetry may persist, but functional recovery in general is excellent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Linz, Austria. ariane.biebl@gespag.at
authors.forename: Ariane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Biebl
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lechner
authors.forename: Katarina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hroncek
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Preisinger
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eisenkölbl
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schmitt
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Furthner
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005158:Facial Paralysis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies