Bell's palsy in pregnancy: A scoping review of risk factors, treatment and outcomes

OBJECTIVE: There are limited studies reporting on Bell's palsy and pregnancy. Our study aimed to evaluate risk factors, current treatment options and facial function outcomes in women who developed Bell's palsy in pregnancy. To our knowledge this is the first review analyzing these factors. DATA SOURCES/REVIEW METHODS: A search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Sciences and Scopus was carried out. Studies describing risk factors, treatment and/or facial function outcomes of Bell's palsy in pregnancy were included. PRISMA‐Scr guidelines were followed. RESULTS: The search yielded 392 abstracts, of which 15 studies were included for analysis. It was not possible to perform a meta‐analysis due to small numbers and quality of studies. There were 559 patients included from the 15 studies. The third trimester was the most common time for Bell's palsy to occur (n = 364, 65%). Pre‐eclampsia was the most common co‐morbidity reported. The most common treatment was corticosteroids and the majority of patients had a complete recovery of their palsy (58%, n = 192). CONCLUSION: This analysis has evaluated all available data concerning risk factors, treatment and facial function outcomes of BP in pregnancy. The third trimester is the most common time for Bell's palsy to occur in pregnancy. There is currently a lack of high quality evidence into this condition in pregnancy. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1.