Abstract
Two electrophysiological tests for facial palsy—electroneurography (ENoG) and nerve
excitability test (NET)—were reviewed. ENoG has advantages over NET in that it reflects
the percentage of degenerated facial nerve fibers and can provide an accurate prognosis.
However, as disadvantages, ENoG requires large, expensive equipment, and such supramaximal
electrical stimulation can be quite painful for patients. NET is less painful due
to weak stimulation with just enough current to meet the threshold, and the required
equipment is compact and inexpensive to procure. However, it is impossible to calculate
the percentage of degenerated nerve fibers, and NET is inferior to ENoG in terms of
accurate prognostic prediction for facial palsy. The appropriate timing for both ENoG
and NET is 7 to 10 days after the onset. While ENoG has proven more popular than NET
because of its accuracy for prognostic prediction, we should not predict the prognosis
of facial palsy based solely on the results of electrophyisiolgical examinations;
a comprehensive evaluation including the facial muscle grading system is essential.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 31, 2022
Accepted:
August 19,
2022
Received:
July 1,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Japanese Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Inc. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
