engleski

Acoustic reflex and House-Brackmann rating scale as prognostic indicators of peripheral facial palsy in neuroborreliosis.

Lyme borreliosis is a vector-borne infectious disease characterized by three disease stages. In the areas endemic for borreliosis, every acute facial palsy indicates serologic testing and implies specific approach to the disease. The aim of the srudy was to identity and confirm the value of acoustic reflex and House- Brackrnan (HB) grading scale as prognostic indicators of facial palsy in neuroborreliosis. The study included 176 patients with acute facial palsy divided into three groups based on serologic testing: borreliosis, Bell's palsy, and facial palsy caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-l). Study patients underwent baseline audiometry with tympanometry and acoustic refl.ex, whereas current state of facial palsy was assessed by the HB scale. Subsequently, the same tests were obtained on three occasions, i.e. in week 3, 6 and 12 of presentation. The patients diagnosed with borreliosis, Bell's palsy and HSV-l differed according to the time to acoustic reflex recovery, which took longest time in patients with borreliosis. These patients had the highest percentage of suprastapedial lesions at all time points and recovery was achieved later as compared with the other two diagnoses. The mean score on the HB scale declined with time, also at a slower rate in borreliosis patients. The prognosis of acoustic reflex and facial palsy recovery according to HB scale was not associated with the length of elapsed time. The results obtained in the present study strongly confirmed the role of acoustic reflex and HB grading scale as prognostic indicators of facial palsy in neuroborreliosis.

Lyme neuroborreliosis ; Lyme disease ; Facial paralysis ; Reflex, acoustic ; Serologic tests ; Bell palsy ; Herpesvirus 1, human ; Audiometry ; Acoustic impedance tests ; Croatia

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