A rise in facial nerve palsies during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

Abstract

Objective: An increase in spontaneous lower motor neuron facial nerve (VIIth cranial nerve) palsies was seen during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 outbreak in our emergency clinic. This led us to perform a single-centre cohort review.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of VIIth cranial nerve palsies from January to June 2020 and the findings were compared to those cases reviewed in the previous year. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 incidence of the cohort was compared with that of the Liverpool population.

Results: Our VIIth cranial nerve palsy incidence in the 2020 period was 3.5 per cent (30 out of 852), 2.7 higher than last year's rate of 1.3 per cent (14 out of 1081), which was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01). Two of the 17 patients in our cohort tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (11.8 per cent), contrasting with Liverpool's severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 incidence (0.5 per cent).

Conclusion: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 may be responsible for an increased number of facial nerve palsies; it is important for clinicians to be aware that this may being an initial presentation of the disease.

Keywords: Facial Palsy; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases; SARS Coronavirus.

Fig. 1.

Cumulative cases of facial nerve palsy over six months.