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- Berg, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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The Course of Pain in Bell's Palsy : Treatment With Prednisolone and Valacyclovir
- 2009
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Ingår i: Otology and Neurotology. - 1531-7129 .- 1537-4505. ; 30:6, s. 842-846
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To evaluate the effect of prednisolone and valacyclovir on ipsilateral pain around the ear and in the face or neck in Bell's palsy. The incidence and intensity of pain during the first 2 months of palsy and its prognostic value were also assessed. Study Design: Prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial. Setting: Sixteen tertiary referral centers in Sweden and 1 in Finland. Patients: Data are part of the Scandinavian Bell's palsy study; 829 patients aged 18 to 75 years with onset of palsy within 72 hours were included. Follow-up time was 12 months. Intervention: Patients were assigned to 1 of 4 treatment arms in a factorial fashion: placebo plus placebo; prednisolone 60 mg daily for 5 days, then tapering for 5 days, plus placebo; valacyclovir 1,000 mg 3 times daily for 7 days plus placebo; or prednisolone plus valacyclovir. Main Outcome Measures: Pain was registered on a visual analog scale within 72 hours, at Days 11 to 17, 1 month, and 2 months. Facial function was assessed with the Sunnybrook and House-Brackmann systems. Results: Prednisolone and/or valacyclovir did not significantly affect the incidence or intensity of pain during the first 2 months. Pain was registered in 542 (65%) of 829 patients. At 2 months, 53 (8%) of 637 patients still reported pain. Subjects with pain at Days 11 to 17 had lower facial recovery rates at 12 months than those with no pain (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Prednisolone and/or valacyclovir did not affect the incidence or intensity of ipsilateral pain in Bell's palsy. The incidence of pain was similar during the first 2 weeks and then decreased. Presence of pain at Days 11 to 17 indicated a worse prognosis for facial recovery.
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| 2. |
- Engström, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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Prednisolone and valaciclovir in Bell's palsy : a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial
- 2008
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Ingår i: Lancet Neurology. - 1474-4422 .- 1474-4465. ; 7:11, s. 993-1000
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Previous trials of corticosteroid or antiviral treatments for Bell's palsy have been underpowered or have had insufficient follow-up. The aim of this study was to compare the short-term and long-term effects of prednisolone and valaciclovir in the recovery of the affected facial nerve in a large number of patients. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial, patients aged 18 to 75 years who sought care directly or were referred from emergency departments or general practitioners within 72 h of onset of acute, unilateral, peripheral facial palsy, between May, 2001, and September, 2006, were assessed. Patients were randomly assigned in permuted blocks of eight to receive placebo plus placebo; 60 mg prednisolone per day for 5 days then reduced by 10 mg per day (for a total treatment time of 10 days) plus placebo; 1000 mg valaciclovir three times per day for 7 days plus placebo; or prednisolone (10 days) plus valaciclovir (7 days). Follow-up was for 12 months. The primary outcome event was time to complete recovery of facial function, as assessed with a regional Sunnybrook scale score of 100 points. Analysis was by modified intention to treat. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00510263. Findings Of 839 patients who were randomly assigned, 829 were included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis: 206 received placebo plus placebo, 210 prednisolone plus placebo, 207 valaciclovir plus placebo, and 206 prednisolone plus valaciclovir. Time to recovery was significantly shorter in the 416 patients who received prednisolone compared with the 413 patients who did not (hazard ratio 1.40, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.64; p<0.0001). There was no difference in time to recovery between the 413 patients treated with valaciclovir and the 416 patients who did not receive valaciclovir (1.01, 0.85 to 1.19; p=0.90). The number of patients with adverse events was similar in all treatment arms. Interpretation Prednisolone shortened the time to complete recovery in patients with Bell's palsy, whereas valaciclovir did not affect facial recovery.
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| 3. |
- Orrling, Arne, et al.
(författare)
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Penicillin V, loracarbef and clindamycin in tonsillar surface fluid during acute group A streptococcal pharyngotonsillitis.
- 2005
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1651-1980 .- 0036-5548. ; 37:6, s. 429-435
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Patients with acute group A-strepotococcal pharyngotonsillitis were randomly assigned to treatment for 10 d with either phenoxymethylpenicillin (PcV), loracarbef or clindamycin. The concentrations of the drugs, respectively, were determined in tonsillar surface fluid (TSF), serum and the saliva in each patient on altogether 5 occasions; before, during and 4 d after end of therapy. On the same occasions blood was drawn for analysis of C-reactive protein (CRP) and orosomucoid. On the last d of treatment PcV could be detected in TSF in 1 of 6 patients only. Loracarbef had a slower decrease in TSF during therapy and measurable levels did occur 2 d after end of therapy corresponding to MIC 100 for GAS. This may be related to the somewhat better clinical results of the cephalosporins than of PcV, and possibly indicates that an extended therapy with these drugs in primary GAS pharyngotonsillitis for more than the arbitrarily chosen 10 d could reduce the number of recurrent episodes. PcV and loracarbef were not detected in serum after the end of treatment. The concentration of clindamycin in both TSF and the saliva was fairly longstanding during therapy and reached levels exceeding MIC 100 for GAS, in both TSF and serum 2 d after the end of treatment. Several investigations have shown that GAS, especially in the stationary phase may invade respiratory epithelial cells and are present intracellularly in patients with acute pharyngotonsillitis as well as in asymptomatic carriers. The same T-type, identical DNA fingerprints and arbitrarily primed patterns are found in GAS before and after treatment failure indicating that the primary episode and the failures are caused by the same strain. The longstanding concentrations of clindamycin in TSF, roughly independent of the degree of the local inflammation combined with its intracellular accumulation and activity against resting GAS seem to explain the efficiency of the drug in recurrent GAS pharyngotonsillitis. CRP and orosomucoid were of limited value in differing between bacterial and viral pharyngtonsillitis and a correlation between antibiotic concentration and CRP/orosomucoid levels was not found.
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