Facial nerve palsy
Adult

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Useful Management Information

Medical management
- Oral steroids Prednis(ol)one 1mg/kg daily (for up to 75mg) daily for 5 days
- Consider oral anti virals if indicative of Ramsay Hunt syndrome
- Eye protection if corneal abrasion e.g., Lacrilube and tape eye shut nocte
- Consider speech pathology assessment if speech and/or swallowing affected
- Arrange diagnostic audiological assessment
- If facial palsy with otalgia and/or otorrhoea, consider fine cut/slice CT scan of temporal bone to rule out cholesteatoma

Minimum Referral Criteria

Does your patient meet the minimum referral criteria?

Category 1 (appointment within 30 calendar days)	Lower motor neuron palsy and any of the following: hearing loss suspected involvement of other cranial nerve Otalgia and/or otorrhoea Vesicles in tympanic membrane and otalgia and/or otorrhoea Perineural spread from cutaneous SCC with or without sensory changes e.g., tingling, numbness, formication
Category 2 (appointment within 90 calendar days)	No category 2 criteria
Category 3 (appointment within 365 calendar days)	No category 3 criteria

Standard Referral Information

Reason for request

To establish a diagnosis
For treatment or intervention
For advice and management
For specialist to take over management
Reassurance for GP/second opinion
For a specified test/investigation the GP can't order, or the patient can't afford or access
Reassurance for the patient/family
For other reason (e.g. rapidly accelerating disease progression)
Clinical judgement indicates a referral for specialist review is necessary

Relevant clinical information about the condition

Presenting symptoms (evolution and duration)
Physical findings
Details of previous treatment (including systemic and topical medications prescribed) including the course and outcome of the treatment
All conservative options that have been pursued unsuccessfully prior to referral
Body mass index (BMI)
Details of any associated medical conditions which may affect the condition or its treatment (e.g. diabetes), noting these must be stable and controlled prior to referral
Any special care requirements where relevant (e.g tracheostomy in place, oxygen required)
Current medications and dosages
Drug allergies
Alcohol, tobacco and other drugs use

Patient's Demographic Details

Full name (including aliases)
Date and country of birth
Residential and postal address including whether patient resides at an aged care facility
Telephone contact number/s – home, mobile and alternative
Medicare number (where eligible)
Name of the parent or caregiver (if appropriate)
Name of delegate and contact details (Department of Corrective Services)
Preferred language and interpreter requirements
Identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Any special needs, access requirements and/or disability relevant to the referral

Referring Practitioner Details

Full name
Full address
Contact details – telephone, fax, email
Provider number
Date of referral
Signature
Nominated general practitioner’s details (if known), if the nominated general practitioner is different from the referring practitioner

Other relevant information

Willingness to have surgery (where surgery is a likely intervention)
Choice to be treated as a public or private patient
Compensable status (e.g. DVA, Work Cover, Motor Vehicle Insurance, etc.)

Essential Referral Information

Neurology/neurosurgery history
Details of previous treatment (including systemic and topical medications prescribed) including the course and outcome of the treatment
Diagnostic audiology assessment (where available and not cause significant delay)

Additional Referral Information

Fine cut/slice CT scan with contrast of temporal bone

Send Referrals To

Related HealthPathways

No directly related pathways found

HealthPathways home page

Service Availability

Facilities

No facilities listed

If you would like to send a named referral, please address it to the specialist listed above, who will allocate a suitably qualified specialist to see the patient. Alternatively, you can view a full list of our specialists.

Facial nerve palsyAdult