Abstract
BackgroundIncomplete recovery from facial palsy results in social and physical disabilities, and the medical options for the sequelae of Bell’s palsy are limited. Acupuncture is widely used for Bell’s palsy patients in East Asia, but its efficacy is unclear.MethodsWe performed a randomized controlled trial including participants with the sequelae of Bell’s palsy with the following two parallel arms: an acupuncture group (n = 26) and a waiting list group (n = 13). The acupuncture group received acupuncture treatments for 8 weeks, whereas the waiting list group did not receive acupuncture treatments during the 8-week period after randomization. The primary outcome measure was change in the Facial Disability Index (FDI) social and well-being subscale at week 8. We also analyzed changes in the FDI physical function subscale, the House–Brackmann score, the Sunnybrook Facial Nerve Grading system, lip mobility and stiffness at 5 and 8 weeks after randomization. An intention-to-treat analysis was applied.ResultsThe acupuncture group exhibited greater improvements in the FDI social score (mean difference, 23.54; 95 % confidence interval, 12.99 to 34.08) and better results on the FDI physical function subscale (mean difference, 21.54; 95 % confidence interval, 7.62 to 35.46), Sunnybrook Facial Nerve Grading score (mean difference, 14.77; 95 % confidence interval, 5.05 to 24.49), and stiffness scale (mean difference, −1.58; 95 % confidence interval,−2.26 to −0.89) compared with the waiting list group after 8 weeks. No severe adverse event occurred in either group.ConclusionCompared with the waiting list group, acupuncture had better therapeutic effects on the social and physical aspects of sequelae of Bell’s palsy.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN43104115.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-015-0777-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Incomplete recovery from facial palsy results in social and physical disabilities, and the medical options for the sequelae of Bell’s palsy are limited
The condition occurs in 30/100,000 individuals per year, and approximately 30 % of patients have sequelae, such as unrecovered paresis, contracture of facial muscles, facial spasms, or synkinesis [2]
Because most symptoms recover within 6 months, the sequelae of Bell’s palsy are defined as facial palsy conditions that persist 6 months after the onset of symptoms [3]
Summary
Incomplete recovery from facial palsy results in social and physical disabilities, and the medical options for the sequelae of Bell’s palsy are limited. Because most symptoms recover within 6 months, the sequelae of Bell’s palsy are defined as facial palsy conditions that persist 6 months after the onset of symptoms [3]. Continuing asymmetry of the facial appearance and impaired function from the sequelae of Bell’s palsy can. Most major treatments for Bell’s palsy, such as the administration of steroid and antiviral agents, are focused on the acute state of the disease [6, 7]. Steroids are clinically effective when initiated within 72 hours of the onset of Bell’s palsy, whereas clinical evidence for antiviral monotherapy for acute Bell’s palsy is not available [6, 8, 9].
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