Bells Palsy

It is unclear if children with Bell’s palsy should be treated with corticosteroids or not and consequently guidelines are vague and practice is variable regarding steroid use. The Bells Palsy Retrospective study aims to determine the rate of steroid use and the steroid regimen used in children less than 18 years of age presenting to Emergency Departments (ED) with Bell’s palsy within the PREDICT network. This data will inform the future design and conduct of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of steroid use in children with Bell’s palsy. In addition, the data will provide a baseline for a subsequent knowledge translation study once RCT data are available.

Study design

Multi centre retrospective audit of medical records

Chief Investigator

Franz Babl/ Amit Kochar

Time frame

2014 – 2015

Funding

N/A

Site locations

  • Starship Children’s Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
  • Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
  • Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth, Australia.
  • Monash Children’s Hospital, Victoria, Australia.
  • Townsville Hospital, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
  • John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, Australia.
  • Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.
  • Sunshine Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
  • Mater Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, Australia.
  • KidzFirst Middlemore Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
  • The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, Australia
  • Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, Australia
  • Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
  • Gold Coast Hospital, Brisbane, Australia

Sample

Approximately 300 children with Bell’s palsy will be identified and data extracted for a two year period (Jan-2012-Dec 2013)

Contact