ArticleCanadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien2006
Should we use steroids to treat children with Bell's palsy?
Article in Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Biological effect of acupuncture on peripheral facial paralysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Review
- Review
- Acute Facial Nerve Palsy in Children: Gold Standard Management.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Influence of Mirror Therapy (Specular Face Software) on Electromyographic Behavior of the Facial Muscles for Facial Palsy.Brain sciences · 2021Article
- Article
- The association between paralytic side and health-related quality of life in facial palsy: a cross-sectional study of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008-2012).Health and quality of life outcomes · 2018Article
- The Effectiveness of Neural Therapy in Patients With Bell's Palsy.Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.) · 2016Article
- Comparison of the Efficacy of Combination Therapy of Prednisolone - Acyclovir with Prednisolone Alone in Bell's Palsy.Iranian journal of child neurology · 2015Article
- Effects of Electroacupuncture on Facial Nerve Function and HSV-1 DNA Quantity in HSV-1 Induced Facial Nerve Palsy Mice.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2014Article
- Bell's palsy and partial hypoglossal to facial nerve transfer: Case presentation and literature review.Surgical neurology international · 2012Article
- Management of peripheral facial nerve palsy.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2008Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
questionA healthy 6-year-old boy came to my office with severe Bell's palsy that had lasted for 24 hours following an upper respiratory tract infection he had had a little over a week ago. Should I treat him with steroids? ANSWER: While there is currently no definitive answer, the risk that Bell's palsy will become permanent seems exceptionally small in children (even smaller than in adults), and the best evidence demonstrates no benefit from steroids. Until a large randomized controlled trial can prove benefit, these patients should not be treated with steroids. The vast majority will recover fully without treatment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
16572574PMC1479708W2160895868What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.