Patients with facial palsy (FP) not only suffer from their facial movement disorder, but also from social and psychological disabilities. These can be assessed by patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) like the quality-of-life Short-Form 36 Item Questionnaire (SF36) or FP-specific instruments like the Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale (FaCE) or the Facial Disability Index (FDI). Not much is known about factors influencing PROMs in patients with FP. We identified predictors for baseline SF36, FaCE, and FDI scoring in 256 patients with unilateral peripheral FP using univariate correlation and multivariate linear regression analyses. Mean age was 52 ± 18 years. 153 patients (60 %) were female. 90 patients (31 %) and 176 patients (69 %) were first seen <90 or >90 days after onset, respectively, i.e., with acute or chronic FP. House-Brackmann grading was 3.9 ± 1.4. FaCE subscores varied from 41 ± 28 to 71 ± 26, FDI scores from 65 ± 20 to 70 ± 22, and SF36 domains from 52 ± 20 to 80 ± 24. Older age, female gender, higher House-Brackmann grading, and initial assessment >90 days after onset were independent predictors for lower FaCE subscores and partly for lower FDI subscores (all p < 0.05). Older age and female gender were best predictors for lower results in SF36 domains. Comorbidity was associated with lower SF General health perception and lower SF36 Emotional role (all p < 0.05). Specific PROMs reveal that older and female patients and patients with chronic FP suffer particularly from motor and non-motor disabilities related to FP. Comorbidity unrelated to the FP could additionally impact the quality of life of patients with FP.
Keywords: Bell’s palsy; Facial nerve; Facial nerve reconstruction; Patient-oriented methods; Quality of life.