Association of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and initial facial weakness with electroneurography results in early-stage Bell’s palsy: A retrospective cohort study

Description

Seongmin Choi and Myung Chul Yoo ask, in a 2026 retrospective study, whether two simple early measures can forecast nerve damage in Bell's palsy before the definitive test becomes possible. Electroneurography predicts recovery but is performed ten to fourteen days after onset. The team reviewed 97 adults treated between 2014 and 2021. They tested whether the blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and the initial facial weakness grade predicted the later electrical result.

Both measures carried signal. Patients starting with milder weakness grades had far better odds of a good electrical result. A ratio below 1.92 also predicted success, with odds ratios of roughly five each in the adjusted model. A classification tree built from the data classified patients with about 86 percent accuracy. It split first on weakness grade and then on a ratio of 1.61. The authors suggest two bedside numbers available on day one can usefully preview the nerve injury that formal testing later confirms.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13313678