• Isuru Induruwa, Negin Holland, Rosalind Gregory, and Kayvan Khadjooi.
• Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK ii231@cam.ac.uk.
• Clin Med (Lond). 2019 Nov 1; 19 (6): 494498494-498.

AbstractIdiopathic Bell's palsy can lead to a serious and, sometimes permanently, disfiguring and emotionally challenging facial palsy. Early diagnosis and treatment with corticosteroids are important, as they significantly improve recovery rates. Bell's palsy is a benign condition that should be diagnosed and managed in primary care. Patients who self-present to the emergency department should be managed and discharged without needing admission. We reviewed all patients referred urgently to our hospital with facial weakness and discharged with a diagnosis of Bell's palsy, to explore whether clinicians were confident in making this diagnosis at initial assessment and, if not, how often they sought a specialist opinion. Furthermore, we assessed the impact of its over-investigation and mistreatment on healthcare resources and the patients.© 2019 Royal College of Physicians.

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