1. Background and purpose
Facial palsy is a very common disease. Relatively many patients with facial palsy are using Korean medicine clinics & hospitals, but clinical guidelines for the treatment of facial palsy have not been prepared sufficiently. therefore, the Development Committee for Standard Korean Medicine Clinical Guidelines agrees with the necessity of preparing the Standard Korean Medicine Clinical Guidelines for facial palsy and publishes this Clinical Guideline. this Clinical Guideline was developed with aiming to help practitioners make more objective decisions by providing the best accessible evidence at the time of its development.
2. Overview of disease
Facial palsy is a symptom that twists an eye or the mouth to one side due to the paralysis of facial muscles. In Korean medicine, it has been called ‘Guanwasa’ and other names. Facial palsy is a relatively common disease with a prevalence rate of 95.37 persons per 100,000 people in South Korea as of 2018.
According to health insurance statistics for inpatients in 2018, the total cost of treatment for Korean medicine was 5,565,197,000won, which placed 16th in the ranking of frequent diseases. the diagnosis is mainly done through tests including visual evaluation, an electromyogram, and nerve conduction. Western medicine administers steroids in the acute phase, while Korean medicine conducts acupuncture, herbal medicine, pharmacupuncture, and physiotherapeutic therapy to facilitate fast recovery.
