Acupuncture treatment of a pregnant patient with Bell's palsy in the third trimester: Case report

Danchun Lan; Wenfei Deng; Kunze He; Qian Li; Xin Peng; Jinxiong Lao; Ziyong Li

doi:10.3389/fneur.2022.1088138

Acupuncture treatment of a pregnant patient with Bell's palsy in the third trimester: Case report

Front Neurol. 2023 Jan 4:13:1088138. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.1088138. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Danchun Lan¹, Wenfei Deng², Kunze He³, Qian Li², Xin Peng², Jinxiong Lao^{1

2}, Ziyong Li^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China.
² The Eighth Clinical School of Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China.
³ Acupuncture and Rehabilitation Clinical School of Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

At present, the optimal treatment for Bell's palsy remains controversial, and the combination of corticosteroids and antiviral medication is usually recommended in the early stage. However, treatment is often delayed because the effects of these drugs on pregnant women and fetuses are still unclear. As a safe and effective complementary alternative therapy, acupuncture can alleviate Bell's palsy symptoms and improve the quality of life of the patient. Herein, we report the clinical presentation of a 27-year-old woman with Bell's palsy who was 26 weeks pregnant at the time of diagnosis. After five courses of treatment, the patient made a complete recovery.

Keywords: Bell's palsy; acupuncture; case report; pregnant patient; third trimester.

Publication types

Case Reports