Ref (type)	Population	Outcome, Interventions	Results and statistical analysis	Effect size	Favours
Presence of sequelae
Systematic review	901 people 3 RCTs in this analysis	Synkinesis and autonomic dysfunction 56/455 (12%) with corticosteroids 92/446 (21%) with placebo/no treatment	RR 0.60 95% CI 0.44 to 0.81 P = 0.0008	Small effect size	corticosteroids
Systematic review	Number of people not reported	Synkinesis and autonomic dysfunction with corticosteroids with control Absolute results not reported	RR 0.48 95% CI 0.36 to 0.65 P <0.001 NNT 7 95% CI 6 to 10	Moderate effect size	corticosteroids
RCT 4-armed trial	551 people with Bell's palsy, moderate to severe weakness In review	Quality of life 9 months with prednisolone with no prednisolone Absolute results not reported	P = 0.04 The RCT found no significant difference between groups at 3 months (P = 0.4)	Effect size not calculated	placebo
RCT 3-armed trial	743 people with Bell's palsy, moderate to severe weakness In review	Synkinesis 12 months 51/370 (14%) with prednisolone 107/373 (29%) with placebo	ARR –15% 95% CI –21% to –9% P <0.0001	Effect size not calculated	prednisolone