Materials and Method: The medical records of the patients treated for idiopathic peripheral facial paralysis with corticosteroids were analyzed retrospectively. The severity of IPFP in patients was assessed using House-Brackmann grading system, with grades from 1 to 6. The HB grades of the patients before the therapy and 6 months after therapy were determined and complete recovery rates were calculated. Complete recovery was defined as House-Brackmann grade I. The effects of diabetes mellitus and the duration between the onset of paralysis and the initiation of treatment on prognosis were investigated.
Results: The complete recovery rate of patients treated within 72 hours (86.7%) was significantly higher than the complete recovery rate of patients treated more than 72 hours after the onset of paralysis (55.5%). The complete recovery rate was 81.3% in patients with diabetes mellitus and 62.5% in those without diabetes mellitus. All diabetic patients in whom the therapy started within 72 hours had complete recovery, but only four of seven diabetics in whom therapy started after 72 hours completely recovered. No serious complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis developed after corticosteroid administration.
Conclusion: Complete recovery rate is high in geriatric patients, especially in those with diabetes, if corticosteroid therapy is administered within the first 72 hours of the onset of idiopathic peripheral facial paralysis. In addition to high complete recovery rates, low complication risk under close clinical monitoring supports the use of corticosteroids in the treatment of idiopathic peripheral facial paralysis in geriatric patients.
Keywords : Facial Paralysis; Recovery; Treatment Outcome; Diabetes Mellitus