Outcomes of facial palsy in children

Conclusions. Facial palsy in children might be an alarming sign of serious underlying disease such as tumor, systemic disease or congenital anomalies and the recovery is poor in those cases. Therefore, careful investigation and differential diagnosis are essential in children. Prednisolone does not make a significant difference in the outcome in the treatment of children with Bell's palsy. The prognosis of Bell's palsy in the pediatric group is good; patients usually recover within 3 months. Objectives. To review and analyze the etiology, management, and outcome of facial palsy in children. Patients and methods. Using a retrospective chart review, patients under the age of 15 years with a diagnosis of facial palsy were collected from 1996 to 2002. Results. A total of 56 cases (29 male, 27 female) with a mean age of 6.9 +/- 4.5 years were included in this analysis. Causes of facial palsy were Bell's palsy (44 patients, 78.6%), neoplastic (4 patients, 7.1%), head injury (3 patients, 5.4%), congenital (3 patients, 5.4%), or infectious (2 patients, 3.6%). In Bell's palsy there was no significant difference in the recovery rate between the groups with or without prednisolone treatment and between the groups that received medication within 1 week of syndrome onset or after more than 1 week.