Project description:ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to report the incidence and clinical course of a series of patients who were misdiagnosed with Bell's palsy and were eventually proven to have occult neoplasms.MethodsTwo hundred forty patients with unilateral facial paralysis who were assessed at the facial nerve reanimation clinic, Victoria Hospital, London Health Science Centre, from 2008 through 2017 were reviewed. Persistent paralysis without recovery was the presenting complaint.ResultsNine patients (3.8%) who were proven to have occult neoplasms initially presented with a diagnosis of Bell's palsy. The mean diagnostic delay was 43.5 months. Four patients were proven to have skin cancers, 3 patients had parotid cancers, and 2 patients had facial nerve schwannomas as a final diagnosis. Initial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in all 9 patients and 8 underwent a follow-up MRI. An occult tumor was identified upon review of the original MRI in one patient and at follow-up MRI in 8 patients. The mean time interval between the initial and follow-up imaging was 30.8 months. The disease status at most recent follow-up were no evidence of disease in 2 patients (22%) and alive with disease in 7 patients (78%). An irreversible, progressive pattern of facial paralysis combined with pain, multiple cranial neuropathies or history of skin cancer were predictable risk factors for occult tumors. Seven out of the 9 patients (77.8%) underwent at least one type of facial reanimation surgery, and the final subjective results by the surgeon were available for 5 patients. Three out of the 5 (60%) patients who were available for final subjective analysis were reported as Grade III according to the modified House-Brackmann scale.ConclusionOccult facial nerve neoplasm should be suspected in patients with progressive and irreversible facial paralysis but the diagnosis may only become evident with follow-up imaging. Facial reanimation surgery is a satisfactory option for these patients.
Project description:Bell's palsy (BP) is the most frequently diagnosed acute partial or complete paralysis of the facial nerve which has an unclear etiology and mostly affects one side of the face. Adverse weather conditions are considered to increase the likelihood of developing BP. The retrospective study included 199 BP patients aged 2-82 years that presented to the Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) clinics at Kumluca State Hospital and Serik State Hospital, Antalya, Turkey and received treatment between January 2017 and December 2020. The 199 patients comprised 106 (53.3%) men and 93 (46.7%) women with a mean age of 42.23 ± 12.99 years. The highest incidence of BP was observed in winter (December-February) (35%), followed by fall (23%), summer (22%), and spring (20%) (p < 0.05). Accordingly, the incidence of BP was significantly higher in November, December, January and February compared to other months of the year (p < 0.05). The results indicated that BP shows seasonal variation and its peak incidence is in winter (December-February). Further studies are needed to explain the reasons for seasonal differences in BP.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-021-02796-2.
Project description:Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an uncommon autoimmune neuromuscular junction disorder manifesting as fluctuating weakness of skeletal muscles. To add to its repertoire of mimicking a wide range of neurological disorders, the present case report is, to the best of our knowledge, the very first to describe MG masquerading as an idiopathic unilateral facial paralysis (Bell's palsy, BP). Our case report is distinct, highlights a novel clinical occurrence, offers new insights of how different neurological disorders may overlap with each other, and reminds neurologists to have a very broad and thorough comprehension for effective diagnoses and treatment plans. Several other conditions that produce facial nerve palsy identical to BP have also been discussed.
Project description:Background: Foreign body (FB) aspiration in children is a frequent condition managed by ENT pediatric surgeons and pediatric pulmonologists. Methods: We present the case of a 20-months-old child who presented with three recurrent episodes of FB aspiration. Results: At the time of FB removal, an initial dynamic examination of the larynx revealed a unilateral vocal cord palsy (UVCP). Conclusion: For recurrent tracheobronchial FB inhalation, we recommend a systematic dynamic airway endoscopy.
Project description:Bell's palsy is the most common condition involving a rapid and unilateral onset of peripheral paresis/paralysis of the seventh cranial nerve. It affects 11.5-53.3 per 100,000 individuals a year across different populations. Bell's palsy is a health issue causing concern and has an extremely negative effect on both patients and their families. Therefore, diagnosis and prompt cause determination are key for early treatment. However, the etiology of Bell's palsy is unclear, and this affects its treatment. Thus, it is critical to determine the causes of Bell's palsy so that targeted treatment approaches can be developed and employed. This article reviews the literature on the diagnosis of Bell's palsy and examines possible etiologies of the disorder. It also suggests that the diagnosis of idiopathic facial palsy is based on exclusion and is most often made based on five factors including anatomical structure, viral infection, ischemia, inflammation, and cold stimulation responsivity.
Project description:Several dysmorphic syndromes affect the development of both the eye and the ear, but only a few are restricted to the eye and the external ear. We describe a developmental defect affecting the eye and the external ear in three members of a consanguineous family. This syndrome is characterized by ophthalmic anomalies (microcornea, microphthalmia, anterior-segment dysgenesis, cataract, coloboma of various parts of the eye, abnormalities of the retinal pigment epithelium, and rod-cone dystrophy) and a particular cleft ear lobule. Linkage analysis and mutation screening revealed in the first exon of the NKX5-3 gene a homozygous 26 nucleotide deletion, generating a truncating protein that lacked the complete homeodomain. Morpholino knockdown expression of the zebrafish nkx5-3 induced microphthalmia and disorganization of the developing retina, thus confirming that this gene represents an additional member implicated in axial patterning of the retina.
Project description:In Bell's palsy, electrodiagnosis by electroneurography (ENoG) is widely used to predict a patient's prognosis. The therapeutic options for patients with poor prognostic results remain controversial. Here, we investigated whether early intervention with intratympanic steroid therapy (ITST) is an effective treatment for Bell's palsy patients with poor electrodiagnostic test results (≤ 10% electroneurography value). Patients in the concurrent ITST group (n = 8) received the standard systemic dose of prednisolone (410 mg total) and intratympanic dexamethasone (16.5 mg total) and those in the control group (n = 21) received systemic prednisolone at the standard dose or higher (average dose, 605 ± 27 mg). A year after onset, the recovery rate was higher in the ITST group than in the control group (88% vs 43%, P = 0.044). The average House-Brackmann grade was better in the concurrent ITST group (1.13 ± 0.13 vs 1.71 ± 0.16, P = 0.035). Concurrent ITST improves the facial nerve outcome in patients with poor electroneurography test results, regardless of whether equivalent or lower glucocorticoid doses were administered. This may be ascribed to a neuroprotective effect of ITST due to a higher dose of steroid reaching the lesion due to dexamethasone transfer in the facial nerve.