Health-related quality of life in 794 patients with a peripheral facial palsy using the FaCE Scale: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the health-related quality of life of patients visiting a tertiary referral centre for facial palsy, and to analyse factors associated with health-related quality of life, using the FaCE Scale instrument.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

The Facial Nerve Center at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a tertiary referral centre.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients with a peripheral facial palsy visiting the centre for an initial consultation between August 2007 and June 2012.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The total FaCE score and the FaCE social function subdomain. Multiple regression models were developed to identify factors associated with the total FaCE score and FaCE social function score.

RESULTS

A total of 794 patients with a mean age of 47.0 ± 16.0 years were analysed in this study, of which 59.9% were female. The mean House-Brackmann, Sunnybrook, total FaCE and FaCE social function scores were 3.6 ± 1.5, 48.2 ± 21.2, 47.3 ± 19.3 and 55.5 ± 19.2, respectively. Increasing age (r = -0.229, P < 0.001) was associated with a lower total FaCE score. Female gender (r = -4.422, P = 0.033) and increased duration of palsy (r = -0.018, P = 0.041) were associated with lower FaCE social function scores.

CONCLUSIONS

While counselling patients on what to expect during the recovery process after facial paralysis is an important part of any clinical visit, FaCE score correlations suggest that female patients with chronic facial palsy and increased age constitute a patient category that may require additional time and attention to prevent or mitigate psychosocial dysfunction.