Assesment, diagnosis and prognosis of bells palsy: a literature review

P Alakram,T Puckree

doi:10.4102/sajp.v64i2.243

Abstract

Facial (VII th cranial nerve) palsy is a condition that affects 1 in 5000 people worldwide. More recently it has appeared as one form of the neural manifestations of infection by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. As such it is likely that this condition will feature more prominently in the caseload of physiotherapists. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to present to physiotherapists existing knowledge on the diagnosis, objective assessment and prognosis of facial palsy through a literature review. All available primary and secondary sources of literature were obtained through a search of Medline, Sabinet, PEDRO, the Cochrane library and a wide Google search. Objective ways of assessing Bells palsy and its recovery as used currently by the Belly Palsy Association and accepted by the American Academy of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck, are presented together with diagnosis and prognosis.

Highlights

A BSTRA CTMore recently it has appeared as one form of the neural manifestations of infection by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Bell’s palsy is the sudden onset of weakness or paralysis of one side of the face due to inflammation of the facial nerve within the facial canal (Hurst 1998)
May et al (1983) reported that in patients a response to the maximal stimulation test (MST) within the first 10 days had excellent recovery while over 85% of those who did not have a response to the MST for 10 days, did not fully recover

Summary

A BSTRA CT

More recently it has appeared as one form of the neural manifestations of infection by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. A s such it is likely that this condition will feature more prominently in the caseload of physiotherapists. The purpose of this paper is to present to physiotherapists existing knowledge on the diagnosis, objective assessment and prognosis of facial palsy through a literature review. A ll available primary and secondary sources of literature were obtained

Head of School

INTRODUCTION

Findings

CONCLUSION