Comparison of the efficacy of prednisolone versus prednisolone plus acyclovir in the treatment of Bell's palsy

ABSTRACT

Bell's palsy is the most common disorder of the facial nerve, developing some acute changes in the face. Considering its probable viral etiology, antiviral therapy is recently added to the classic regimen. This study has been conducted to compare the effectiveness of two regimens of prednisolone versus prednisolone plus acyclovir in the treatment of Bell's palsy. This clinical trial study was performed on 496 patients with Bell's palsy who divided into two groups; the first group was treated with oral prednisolone and the second group with oral prednisolone and acyclovir. The patients were evaluated at the end of the second week, first, third and sixth months after treatment. The outcome of therapy in two treated groups were compared. Two hundred and forty eight patients [108 males and 140 females] with average age of 20-39 and 248 patients [135 males and 113 females] with the same mean age were treated with prednisolone and prednisolone plus acyclovir, respectively. At the end of the study, the recovery rate in the combined regimen group was 95.06% [237 patients] and in the prednisolone regimen group was 91.2% [226 patients] [p= 0.035]. The result of this study shows that combination of prednisolone plus acyclovir is the preferred regimen of therapy in Bell's palsy