Trial reportThe New England journal of medicine2007
Early treatment with prednisolone or acyclovir in Bell's palsy.
Trial report in The New England journal of medicine, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 186 papers, 12 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
186 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 746 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparison of acupuncture intervention from the acute phase or the non-acute phase in patients with peripheral facial paralysis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Comparison of oral versus intravenous steroid in the management of Bell's palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.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 · 2024Pooled it
- Surgical interventions for the early management of Bell's palsy.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Antiviral treatment for Bell's palsy (idiopathic facial paralysis).The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Corticosteroids for Bell's palsy (idiopathic facial paralysis).The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Bell's palsy.BMJ clinical evidence · 2014Pooled it
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Bell's palsy.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2012Pooled it
- Physical therapy for Bell's palsy (idiopathic facial paralysis).The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2011Pooled it
- Bell's palsy.BMJ clinical evidence · 2011Pooled it
- A systematic review of the reporting of Data Monitoring Committees' roles, interim analysis and early termination in pediatric clinical trials.BMC pediatrics · 2009Pooled it
- The benefits of steroids versus steroids plus antivirals for treatment of Bell's palsy: a meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2009Pooled it
- The efficacy of corticosteroid after facial nerve neurorrhaphy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial.Brazilian journal of otorhinolaryngologyPooled it
- Efficacy of Kinesio tape for central facial paralysis: A prospective, randomized sham-controlled, single-blinded clinical trial.Medicine · 2026Trial
- Cost-effectiveness of Prednisolone to Treat Bell Palsy in Children: An Economic Evaluation Alongside a Randomized Controlled Trial.Neurology · 2023Trial
- Guided Self-rehabilitation Contract vs conventional therapy in chronic peripheral facial paresis: VISAGE, a multicenter randomized controlled trial.BMC neurology · 2023Trial
- Incidence of Underlying Abnormal Findings on Routine Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Bell Palsy.JAMA network open · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Bell's Palsy in Children (BellPIC): protocol for a multicentre, placebo-controlled randomized trial.BMC pediatrics · 2017Trial
- Role of Kabat rehabilitation in facial nerve palsy: a randomised study on severe cases of Bell's palsy.Acta otorhinolaryngologica Italica : organo ufficiale della Societa italiana di otorinolaringologia e chirurgia cervico-facciale · 2016Trial
- Trial
126 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCorticosteroids and antiviral agents are widely used to treat the early stages of idiopathic facial paralysis (i.e., Bell's palsy), but their effectiveness is uncertain.
methodsWe conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, factorial trial involving patients with Bell's palsy who were recruited within 72 hours after the onset of symptoms. Patients were randomly assigned to receive 10 days of treatment with prednisolone, acyclovir, both agents, or placebo. The primary outcome was recovery of facial function, as rated on the House-Brackmann scale. Secondary outcomes included quality of life, appearance, and pain.
resultsFinal outcomes were assessed for 496 of 551 patients who underwent randomization. At 3 months, the proportions of patients who had recovered facial function were 83.0% in the prednisolone group as compared with 63.6% among patients who did not receive prednisolone (P<0.001) and 71.2% in the acyclovir group as compared with 75.7% among patients who did not receive acyclovir (adjusted P=0.50). After 9 months, these proportions were 94.4% for prednisolone and 81.6% for no prednisolone (P<0.001) and 85.4% for acyclovir and 90.8% for no acyclovir (adjusted P=0.10). For patients treated with both drugs, the proportions were 79.7% at 3 months (P<0.001) and 92.7% at 9 months (P<0.001). There were no clinically significant differences between the treatment groups in secondary outcomes. There were no serious adverse events in any group.
conclusionsIn patients with Bell's palsy, early treatment with prednisolone significantly improves the chances of complete recovery at 3 and 9 months. There is no evidence of a benefit of acyclovir given alone or an additional benefit of acyclovir in combination with prednisolone. (Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN71548196 [controlled-trials.com].).
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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.