No abstract

Corticosteroids for Bell's palsy (idiopathic facial paralysis).

Background Antiviral agents against herpes simplex virus are widely used in the treatment of idiopathic facial paralysis (Bell's palsy), but their effectiveness is uncertain. Significant morbidity can be associated with severe cases. Objectives This review addresses the effect of antiviral therapy on Bell's palsy.

Background Recruitment to trials in primary care is often difficult, particularly when practice staff need to identify study participants with acute conditions during consultations. The Scottish Acute Recruitment Management Application (SARMA) system is linked to general practice electronic medical record (EMR) systems and is designed to provide recruitment support to multi-centre trials by screening patients against trial inclusion criteria and alerting practice staff if the patient appears eligible. For patients willing to learn more about the trial, the software allows practice staff to send the patient's contact details to the research team by text message. Aim To evaluate the ability of the software to support trial recruitment. Design of study Software evaluation embedded in a randomised controlled trial.