Scholarlink

<p>Initial paralysis severity, assessed using the House–Brackmann (HB) scale, is an established prognostic indicator in Bell’s palsy. Whether altitude of duty posting at symptom onset contributes additional prognostic information has not been examined prospectively. This prospective cohort included 38 male military personnel with Bell’s palsy who developed symptoms during high-altitude duty posting and were treated at a base hospital in Guwahati. Patients were stratified by duty-posting altitude: Stage I, 9000–12,000 ft (<i>n</i> = 8); Stage II, 12,001–15,000 ft (<i>n</i> = 17); and Stage III, &gt; 15,000 ft (<i>n</i> = 13). All received standardised treatment within 72&#xa0;h. HB grade was recorded at five time points over three months. Complete recovery was defined as HB Grade I at three months. Firth penalized logistic regression assessed the associations of altitude stage and initial HB grade with recovery. Complete recovery occurred in 100%, 47.1%, and 7.7% of patients in Stages I, II, and III, respectively (Fisher–Freeman–Halton exact test, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). Increasing altitude stage was associated with lower odds of complete recovery (OR = 0.074 per stage increase, 95% profile-likelihood CI 0.008–0.311, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). Higher initial HB grade was also associated with lower odds of recovery (OR = 0.197 per grade increase, 95% profile-likelihood CI 0.026–0.942, <i>p</i> = 0.041). Day-11 HB improvement was associated with complete recovery in univariable analysis (OR = 6.07, 95% CI 1.35–27.23, <i>p</i> = 0.018). In this preliminary single-centre cohort of young male military personnel, higher duty-posting altitude was associated with poorer three-month recovery. Altitude may provide prognostic information beyond initial HB grade, but validation is required in larger multicentre studies with broader populations and a sea-level comparator.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Altitude as a Prognostic Factor in Bell’s Palsy: A Prospective Cohort Study

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月8日

查看全文
  • N. Dhivya

摘要

Initial paralysis severity, assessed using the House–Brackmann (HB) scale, is an established prognostic indicator in Bell’s palsy. Whether altitude of duty posting at symptom onset contributes additional prognostic information has not been examined prospectively. This prospective cohort included 38 male military personnel with Bell’s palsy who developed symptoms during high-altitude duty posting and were treated at a base hospital in Guwahati. Patients were stratified by duty-posting altitude: Stage I, 9000–12,000 ft (n = 8); Stage II, 12,001–15,000 ft (n = 17); and Stage III, > 15,000 ft (n = 13). All received standardised treatment within 72 h. HB grade was recorded at five time points over three months. Complete recovery was defined as HB Grade I at three months. Firth penalized logistic regression assessed the associations of altitude stage and initial HB grade with recovery. Complete recovery occurred in 100%, 47.1%, and 7.7% of patients in Stages I, II, and III, respectively (Fisher–Freeman–Halton exact test, p < 0.001). Increasing altitude stage was associated with lower odds of complete recovery (OR = 0.074 per stage increase, 95% profile-likelihood CI 0.008–0.311, p < 0.001). Higher initial HB grade was also associated with lower odds of recovery (OR = 0.197 per grade increase, 95% profile-likelihood CI 0.026–0.942, p = 0.041). Day-11 HB improvement was associated with complete recovery in univariable analysis (OR = 6.07, 95% CI 1.35–27.23, p = 0.018). In this preliminary single-centre cohort of young male military personnel, higher duty-posting altitude was associated with poorer three-month recovery. Altitude may provide prognostic information beyond initial HB grade, but validation is required in larger multicentre studies with broader populations and a sea-level comparator.