Abstract
To establish the prognostic value of different electrophysiological examinations, we investigated their efficacy in patients with facial palsy for up to 6 months.
One hundred patients with peripheral facial palsy were investigated. Electrophysiological tests were: electroneuronography (ENoG), electrogustometry, stapedial reflex (SR) and blink reflex (BR). Tests were performed at the first visit of outpatients with facial palsy. The palsy scale with the full score of 40 points was examined every 2 weeks during the 6 months, and we defined a scale of 36 points or more as indicating that patients were cured. For the first stage, the patients were classified retrospectively into 2 groups: a cured group (n=94) cured within 6 months, and an uncured group (n=6) that scored fewer than 36 points in the 6 months. For the second stage, the cured group was further classified into 2 groups: group A (n=36) cured within one month, and group B (n=58) cured within 1 to 6 months. A multivariate method was employed for statistical analysis.
The first an alysis revealed that ENoG and SR were significantly more indicative than other factors of a good prognosis. From the second analysis, it was found that there was a significant difference between groups A and B in the positive BR ratio.
The present study suggested that ENoG and SR are more useful parameters than other neurophysiological examinations for evaluating the prognosis of facial palsy. In addition, BR is an effective parameter to estimate the probability of easily curing facial palsy.
