Clinical effect and safety of thread embedding acupuncture on facial nerve palsy sequelae: A retrospective observational study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical effect and safety of thread embedding acupuncture (TEA) in patients with facial nerve palsy sequelae. This was a retrospective observational study on 82 patients treated with TEA from January 2021 to May 2022. The Facial Disability Index (FDI) reported by patients and Sunnybrook Facial Grading System scores assessed by clinical practitioners were used to evaluate the intensity of facial movements, functional problems, and psychosocial status. One-way repeated measure analysis of variance showed that the Sunnybrook Facial Grading System scores improved significantly following the 2nd to 6th TEA treatments (Txs). FDI scores also showed significant increases except for the 4th Tx. Additionally, the physical scores improved significantly among the subscales of FDI, but the social/well-being scores did not. There were no reported serious adverse events or adverse events requiring medical Tx. TEA is a safe Tx that has a clinically cumulative effect, in terms of patient-oriented self-assessment of functional problems and objective facial movements, for treating facial nerve palsy sequelae.