Efficacy of Low-Dose Corticosteroid Therapy Versus High-Dose Corticosteroid Therapy in Bell's Palsy in Children.
Bell's palsy is the most common cause of acute peripheral facial nerve paralysis, but the optimal dose of corticosteroids in pediatric patients is still unclear. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of low-dose corticosteroid therapy compared with high-dose corticosteroid therapy in children with Bell's palsy. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on the dose of oral prednisolone regimen initiated. The severity of idiopathic facial nerve paralysis was graded according to the House-Brackmann Grading Scale. The patients were re-assessed in terms of recovery rate at the first, third, and sixth months of treatment. There was no significant difference in complete recovery between the 2 groups after 1, 3, and 6 months of treatment. In our study, we concluded that even at a dose of 1 mg/kg/d, oral prednisolone was highly effective in the treatment of Bell's palsy in children.
1 Department of Pediatric Neurology, Izmir Tepecik Education and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
Pinar
P
Arican
2 Department of Pediatric Neurology, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Izmir, Turkey.
Nihal Olgac
NO
Dundar
1 Department of Pediatric Neurology, Izmir Tepecik Education and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
Pinar
P
Gencpinar
2 Department of Pediatric Neurology, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Izmir, Turkey.
Dilek
D
Cavusoglu
D000293:Adolescent; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020330:Bell Palsy / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002648:Child; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D061665:Time-to-Treatment
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D011239:Prednisolone
Bell’s palsy; children; corticosteroids; facial nerve paralysis; treatment