Combined use of integrated electromyography and score rating method for evaluation and prognosis of facial paralysis.

Degrees of peripheral facial paralysis were assessed by the paralysis score table in a modification of May's method together with the integrated EMG method. Paralysis scores and integrated EMGs from the frontal, orbicularis oculi and orbicularis oris muscles were obtained from 68 patients with facial paralysis. A linear regression analysis was tried in the cases of complete recovery with the following equation: Y = B log X + A, where Y = percentage of paralysis score or integrated EMG, B = recovery rate, A = constant and X = days after onset. The correlation coefficient of paralysis score and the days expressed in logarithmic form was 0.979. The paralysis scores obtained showed good correlation (0.933-0.941) with the value of the integrated EMG. The paralysis score for facial paralysis was thus confirmed by the objective EMG method. Recovery process from facial paralysis can be analysed numerically by the application of linear regression analysis in both methods.