Predictive Role of Facial Nerve Palsy Improvement in Malignant External Otitis Publisher Pubmed



Jamshidi A¹ ; Zonnour A¹ ; Dabiri S¹ ; Hasibi M² ; Tajdini A¹ ; Karrabi N¹ ; Yazdani N¹ Show Affiliations
Source: European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Published:2024

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of different factors on facial nerve palsy improvement in patients with malignant external otitis (MEO) and the predictive role of improvement on MEO. Methods: Data were collected from all MEO patients with facial paralysis who were hospitalized between 2012 and 2017 at a tertiary referral center. We contacted patients at least 6 months after their admission to evaluate their facial nerve function and survival rate. Results: In a study of 19 samples with a mean age of 69.1 years, 9 patients (47.7%) had some or complete improvement, while 10 (52.6%) had no or very minimal improvement. In this study, there was no statistically significant difference between patients with and without facial nerve palsy improvement in terms of age, sex, usage of antifungal treatment alongside antibiotics, duration of hospital stays, HbA1c level, presentation of hearing loss and vertigo, the severity of facial palsy, comorbidity score, mean of fasting blood sugar, leukocytosis, first ESR and ESR drop, CRP and physiotherapy. We found a positive correlation between improving facial palsy and patients’ survival rates. Conclusion: Considering the possible influence of facial paralysis improvement prognosis on MEO patients’ survival, it could affect our approach to the disease. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023.