Temporal trends in reported cases of Bell's palsy in Brazil before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

AIM: This study aimed to compare the number of diagnosed cases of Bell's palsy (BP) in Brazil during the pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods of COVID-19.

METHODS

This is an ecological time-series study, with data obtained from the Primary Health Care Information System (SISAB), Outpatient Care Information System of the Unified Health System (SIASUS), and Hospital Information System of the Unified Health System (SIHSUS) for the period from January 2018 to December 2024. The periods were classified as pre-pandemic (January 2018-February 2020), pandemic (March 2020-April 2023), and post-pandemic (May 2023-December 2024). Descriptive statistical analysis of the mean, median, and interquartile range (IQR) was performed, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was applied.

RESULTS

The highest monthly average of cases was in the post-pandemic period (21,544) compared to the pandemic (14,037) and pre-pandemic periods (16,693). The Southeast region had the highest number of PB cases (42.87%). The greatest increase in cases occurred at the beginning of the post-pandemic period.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that there was an increase in PB cases after the COVID-19 pandemic; however, further studies are needed to clarify this relationship.