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Bilateral facial palsy with paresthesias, variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome following COVID-19 vaccine: A case series of 9 patients

2022; Elsevier BV; Volume: 32; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.nmd.2022.05.003

1873-2364

Juan Ignacio Castiglione, J.M. Crespo, Lucila Lecchini, F.O. Silveira, M.B. Luis, Norberto Cotti, Conrado J Simison, F. Aguirre, M.A. Piedrabuena, R.N. Alonso, C.L. Azcona, P.S. Sosa, E. Maldonado, Fábio Barroso,

Long-Term Effects of COVID-19

Several cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) associated with COVID-19 vaccination have been reported, including the rare subtype known as Bilateral Facial Palsy with paresthesias (BFP). To date, it is not known whether a causal relationship may exist between the two. We report 9 cases of BFP in patients vaccinated against COVID-19 in the previous month. Nerve conduction studies revealed demyelinating polyneuropathy in 4 patients, and 5 presented bilateral, focal facial nerve involvement, exclusively. Ganglioside antibody panel was positive in 4 patients (anti-GM1=2, anti-GD1a=1 and anti-sulfatide=1). Seven patients received intravenous immunoglobulin treatment, one plasma exchange, and one patient died from sudden cardiac arrest following arrhythmia before treatment could be administered. Rates of BFP following COVID-19 vaccination, did not differ from those reported in previous series. Epidemiological studies are essential to determine whether a causal relationship may exist between this rare form of GBS and COVID-19 vaccination.