title: Antiviral Agents Added to Corticosteroids for Early Treatment of Adults With Acute Idiopathic Facial Nerve Paralysis (Bell Palsy).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Compared with oral corticosteroids alone, are oral antiviral drugs associated with improved outcomes when combined with oral corticosteroids in patients presenting within 72 hours of the onset of Bell palsy?
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compared with oral corticosteroids alone, the addition of acyclovir, valacyclovir, or famcyclovir to oral corticosteroids for treatment of Bell palsy was associated with a higher proportion of people who recovered at 3- to 12-month follow-up. The quality of evidence is limited by heterogeneity, imprecision of the result estimates, and risk of bias.
authors.affiliation: UTOPIAN FMTU, North York General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada2Department of Family and Community Medicine and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada3Scientist Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.affiliation: Frontier Science Ltd, Grampian View, Scotland.
authors.forename: Fergus
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Daly
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice, Goettingen University Medical Center, Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ildiko
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gagyor
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020330:Bell Palsy; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005154:Facial Nerve; D005158:Facial Paralysis; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000998:Antiviral Agents