RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The impact of misdiagnosing Bell’s palsy as acute stroke JF Clinical Medicine JO Clin Med FD Royal College of Physicians SP 494 OP 498 DO 10.7861/clinmed.2019-0123 VO 19 IS 6 A1 Isuru Induruwa A1 Negin Holland A1 Rosalind Gregory A1 Kayvan Khadjooi YR 2019 UL http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/19/6/494.abstract AB Idiopathic Bell’s palsy can lead to a serious and, sometimes permanently, disfiguring and emotionally challenging facial palsy. Early diagnosis and treatment with corticosteroids are important, as they significantly improve recovery rates. Bell’s palsy is a benign condition that should be diagnosed and managed in primary care. Patients who self-present to the emergency department should be managed and discharged without needing admission. We reviewed all patients referred urgently to our hospital with facial weakness and discharged with a diagnosis of Bell’s palsy, to explore whether clinicians were confident in making this diagnosis at initial assessment and, if not, how often they sought a specialist opinion. Furthermore, we assessed the impact of its over-investigation and mistreatment on healthcare resources and the patients.