Open AccessFacial palsy as a manifestation of COVID‐19: A systematic review of cases
Author(s) -
Khurshid Aiman,
Khurshid Maman,
Sohail Aruba,
Raza Imran Mansoor,
Ahsan Muhammad Khubab,
Alam Shah Mir Umer Farooq,
Taseer Anab Rehan,
Nashwan Abdulqadir J.,
Ullah Irfan
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
health science reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.462
H-Index - 7
ISSN - 2398-8835
DOI - 10.1002/hsr2.887
Subject(s) - medicine , palsy , facial paralysis , regimen , forehead , pediatrics , population , covid-19 , paralysis , surgery , alternative medicine , disease , pathology , environmental health , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Abstract Background and Aims Facial palsy is a rare complication of the COVID‐19 infection. Herein, we conducted a systematic review of all published cases of facial palsy post‐COVID‐19 infection in an attempt to educate the general population and medical practitioners regarding the likely occurrence of facial palsy in COVID‐19 patients, its detection, effective treatment plan, and prognosis of the condition. Methods We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, and Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) from December 1, 2019 to September 21, 2021. Results We included 49 studies bearing accounts of 75 cases who had facial palsy. The mean age of patients was 42.9 ± 19.59 years, with a male‐to‐female ratio of 8:7. The majority of the cases were reported from Brazil ( n = 14), USA ( n = 9), Turkey ( n = 9), and Spain ( n = 9). Noticeably, 30.14% of COVID‐19 patients were diagnosed with Guillain‐Barré syndrome. In total, 22.97% of patients complained of bilateral facial paralysis ( n = 17), whereas ipsilateral paralysis was observed in 77.03% ( n = 57). These were common complaints of Lagophthalmos, otalgia, facial drooping, dysarthria, and compromised forehead wrinkling. The treatment regimen mainly included the use of corticosteroids ( n = 51) (69.86%), antivirals ( n = 23) (31.51%), IVIG ( n = 18) (24.66%), antibiotics ( n = 13) (17.81%), antiretroviral ( n = 9) (12.33%), and antimalarial ( n = 8) (10.96%) medications. In all, 35.62% of patients ( n = 26) adhered to a combination of antiviral and corticosteroid‐based therapy. Positive treatment outcomes were observed in 83.58% ( n = 56) of cases. In contrast, 10 patients (14.93%) showed nonsignificant recovery, out of which 3 (4.48%) died from the disease. Conclusion The association of facial palsy with COVID‐19 is controversial and therefore requires further investigation and published work to confirm a causal relationship. However, physicians should not overlook the likelihood of facial palsy post‐COVID‐19 infection and treat it accordingly.