Management of Bell’s Palsy

There is very little evidence specifically from paediatric populations on the management of Bell’s palsy, despite a growing adult evidence base.

Corticosteroids

In the management of adult Bell’s Palsy, following a Cochrane review in 2015 there is a clear recommendation to use corticosteroids if the patient presents within 72 hours of the onset of symptoms. The dosage regimen, however, remains unclear.

In the paediatric population, there remains an absence of evidence. Neither a 2005 BestBET review nor a 2012 systematic review were able to identify any randomised controlled trials addressing this question. A protocol for BellPIC, a multicentre, placebo-controlled randomized trial, aims to answer this question by 2020.