tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Cureus
. 2021 Aug 31;13(8):e17602.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.17602. eCollection 2021 Aug.
Bilateral Facial Nerve Palsy and COVID-19 Vaccination: Causation or Coincidence?
Matthew C Mason[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Adnan Liaqat[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jamie Morrow[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Rafaela Basso[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yogesh Gujrati[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Bell's palsy is a mononeuropathy of the facial nerve that typically causes unilateral facial paralysis. The incidence of unilateral Bell's palsy is not uncommon, but sequential or simultaneous bilateral Bell's palsy is exceedingly rare. While unilateral Bell's palsy is oftentimes idiopathic, bilateral Bell's palsy is almost exclusively explained by an identifiable trigger. In pre-clinical trials, Bell's palsy cases were recorded at higher rates in the vaccine cohort than the placebo cohort. Herein, we present a case of isolated sequential bilateral Bell's palsy that after an extensive workup, proved to be idiopathic. Notably, in the setting of a recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine and absence of identifiable etiology, our case highlights a potential correlation of the COVID-19 vaccine and bilateral Bell's palsy.
Keywords: bell's palsy; bilateral bell's palsy; covid-19; covid-19 vaccine; facial nerve paralysis.
. 2021 Aug 31;13(8):e17602.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.17602. eCollection 2021 Aug.
Bilateral Facial Nerve Palsy and COVID-19 Vaccination: Causation or Coincidence?
Matthew C Mason[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Adnan Liaqat[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jamie Morrow[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Rafaela Basso[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yogesh Gujrati[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34522557
- PMCID: PMC8425028
- DOI: 10.7759/cureus.17602
Abstract
Bell's palsy is a mononeuropathy of the facial nerve that typically causes unilateral facial paralysis. The incidence of unilateral Bell's palsy is not uncommon, but sequential or simultaneous bilateral Bell's palsy is exceedingly rare. While unilateral Bell's palsy is oftentimes idiopathic, bilateral Bell's palsy is almost exclusively explained by an identifiable trigger. In pre-clinical trials, Bell's palsy cases were recorded at higher rates in the vaccine cohort than the placebo cohort. Herein, we present a case of isolated sequential bilateral Bell's palsy that after an extensive workup, proved to be idiopathic. Notably, in the setting of a recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine and absence of identifiable etiology, our case highlights a potential correlation of the COVID-19 vaccine and bilateral Bell's palsy.
Keywords: bell's palsy; bilateral bell's palsy; covid-19; covid-19 vaccine; facial nerve paralysis.