TY - JOUR
T1 - Early treatment with prednisolone or acyclovir in Bell's palsy.
AU - Sullivan, Frank M
AU - Swan, Iain R C
AU - Donnan, Peter T
AU - Morrison, Jillian M
AU - Smith, Blair H
AU - McKinstry, Brian
AU - Davenport, Richard J
AU - Vale, Luke D
AU - Clarkson, Janet E
AU - Hammersley, Victoria
AU - Hayavi, Sima
AU - McAteer, Anne
AU - Stewart, Ken
AU - Daly, Fergus
PY - 2007/10/18
Y1 - 2007/10/18
N2 - BACKGROUND: Corticosteroids and antiviral agents are widely used to treat the early stages of idiopathic facial paralysis (i.e., Bell's palsy), but their effectiveness is uncertain. METHODS: We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, factorial trial involving patients with Bell's palsy who were recruited within 72 hours after the onset of symptoms. Patients were randomly assigned to receive 10 days of treatment with prednisolone, acyclovir, both agents, or placebo. The primary outcome was recovery of facial function, as rated on the House-Brackmann scale. Secondary outcomes included quality of life, appearance, and pain. RESULTS: Final outcomes were assessed for 496 of 551 patients who underwent randomization. At 3 months, the proportions of patients who had recovered facial function were 83.0% in the prednisolone group as compared with 63.6% among patients who did not receive prednisolone (P
AB - BACKGROUND: Corticosteroids and antiviral agents are widely used to treat the early stages of idiopathic facial paralysis (i.e., Bell's palsy), but their effectiveness is uncertain. METHODS: We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, factorial trial involving patients with Bell's palsy who were recruited within 72 hours after the onset of symptoms. Patients were randomly assigned to receive 10 days of treatment with prednisolone, acyclovir, both agents, or placebo. The primary outcome was recovery of facial function, as rated on the House-Brackmann scale. Secondary outcomes included quality of life, appearance, and pain. RESULTS: Final outcomes were assessed for 496 of 551 patients who underwent randomization. At 3 months, the proportions of patients who had recovered facial function were 83.0% in the prednisolone group as compared with 63.6% among patients who did not receive prednisolone (P
U2 - 10.1056/NEJMoa072006
DO - 10.1056/NEJMoa072006
M3 - Article
C2 - 17942873
SN - 1533-4406
VL - 357
JO - The New England Journal of Medicine
JF - The New England Journal of Medicine
IS - 16
ER -