STUDY OF CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS, ELECTROMYOGRAPHY RESULTS IN PATIENTS WITH BELL'S FACIAL PARALYSIS AT THE NATIONAL HOSPITAL OF ACUPUNCTURE
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Abstract
Introduction: In addition to assessing the degree of facial paralysis using the House-Brackmann grading scale, electromyography (EMG) is used to evaluate the severity of nerve damage in cases of acute peripheral facial nerve paralysis, contributing to an assessment of recovery potential.Objectives: 1.Describe the clinical characteristics of patients with Bell’s palsy; 2.Describe EMG results and compare them with the House-Brackmann grading scale. Subjects and Methods: This descriptive study examined a series of patients diagnosed with Bell’s palsy who visited, received treatment, and underwent EMG at the Central Acupuncture Hospital from July 2023 to August 2024. Results: Among the 35 patients with Bell's palsy evaluated using the House-Brackmann scale, most patients were classified as Grade IV upon hospital admission (54.3%), followed by Grade III (25.7%) and Grade V (20.0%). After two weeks of treatment, most patients were classified as Grade II (42.9%), followed by Grade I (34.3%) and Grade III (22.8%). At six weeks post-treatment, the majority were classified as Grade I (77.1%), with the remainder as Grade II (22.9%). There was an improvement in grading from admission to post-treatment evaluations. Abnormal EMG findings commonly included reduced recruitment and incomplete interference patterns. EMG results showed improvement post-treatment, with normal recruitment patterns increasing by 34.2% and complete interference patterns increasing by 34.2%. The difference between House-Brackmann grades and EMG findings in the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Assessment of the severity of facial paralysis using the House-Brackmann grading scale at admission and after treatment (2 and 6 weeks) indicated improvement, with most patients initially classified as Grade IV, followed by Grade III and Grade V, and predominantly classified as Grade I and II after treatment. EMG performed on the study patients showed improvements in clinical symptoms consistent with EMG findings across both assessments.
Keywords: Clinical characteristics, Bell’s palsy, electromyography
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References
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