Review of Facial Nerve Palsy at a Tertiary Hospital in Maiduguri, Nigeria

摘要

Background: Facial nerve palsy is cosmetically distressing and functionally disabling, and may result from several causes, such as trauma, neoplasm, infections or genetics. Purpose: This study reviewed sociodemographic distributions, common types and causes of facial nerve palsy, and cases referred for Physiotherapy between January, 2003 and December, 2012 at a tertiary hospital in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Method: Retrospective study of facial nerve palsy was conducted at the tertiary hospital. Folders of patients diagnosed with facial nerve palsy and managed at the hospital were selected and reviewed using purposive sampling technique. Patients' information was extracted from the folders and descriptive statistics was utilized to summarize the collected data. Results: A total of 48 folders of patients with facial nerve palsy from January 2003 to December 2012 were retrieved. Age range and mean age of the patients were 3-65 years and 31.02±12.3 years respectively. Age group of 23-32 years was in majority (37.5%) and male patients were more in number (64.6%) than the females. Lower motor neuron facial nerve palsy (56.2%) predominated over upper motor neuron type. Twenty (41.7%) cases were referred for physiotherapy. Conclusion: Although facial nerve palsy from our study is not common in this sub-region, awareness campaign is needed to enlighten the public about this ailing condition.