Open AccessFacial Diplegia with Paresthesia: An Uncommon Variant of Guillain–Barre Syndrome
Author(s) -
Prabhat Kumar,
Riyaz Charaniya,
A. L. Bahl,
Anindya Ghosh,
Juhi Dixit
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of clinical and diagnostic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2249-782X
pISSN - 0973-709X
DOI - 10.7860/jcdr/2016/19951.8092
Subject(s) - medicine , diplegia , palsy , facial weakness , facial nerve , weakness , population , guillain barre syndrome , pediatrics , incidence (geometry) , facial nerve palsy , surgery , physical medicine and rehabilitation , cerebral palsy , pathology , physics , alternative medicine , environmental health , optics
Facial nerve palsy (FNP) is a common medical problem and can be unilateral or bilateral. Unilateral facial palsy has an incidence of 25 per 100,000 population and most of them are idiopathic. However, facial diplegia or bilateral facial nerve palsy (B-FNP) is rare with an incidence of just 1 per 5,000,000 population and only 20 percent cases are idiopathic. Facial diplegia is said to be simultaneous if the other side is affected within 30 days of involvement of first side. Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is a common cause of facial diplegia and almost half of these patients have facial nerve involvement during their illness. Facial Diplegia with Paresthesias (FDP) is a rare localized variant of GBS which is characterized by simultaneous facial diplegia, distal paresthesias and minimal or no motor weakness. We had a patient who presented with simultaneous weakness of bilateral facial nerve and paresthesias. A diagnosis of GBS was made after diligent clinical examination and relevant investigations. Patient responded to IVIG therapy and symptoms resolved within two weeks of therapy.