Skip to main content
  Sign In   Register

ePoster Presentations Proceedings »

A Rare Neurological Manifestation of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a Single Reference Center: Ramsay Hunt Syndrome

Objectives: Ramsay Hunt Syndrome (RHS) is a rare form of herpes zoster caused by the reactivation of the dormant varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in the geniculate ganglion. The literature presents cases of COVID-19 associated with HZ, but to our knowledge; this is the first report of RHS associated with COVID-19 in a pediatric patient. Methods: We retriewed the data files of 1008 pediatric patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and the initial specific neurological complications from March 2020 to March 2022. All the patients underwent PCR examination for COVID-19 and a detailed neurological examination. Results: The ages of patients were between 2 months -17,5 years old on admission. The male to female ratio was 1.26/1. The initial specific neurological manifestation of the patients comprised: RHS (n:1). A 13 -year-old girl was admitted to our department with Grade 2 left-sided periphreal facial palsy (PFP). She tested positive for SARS- Cov-2 without any general or respiaratory symptoms on admission. In the following days, she developed zoster rash on the ipsilateral ear and auricular pain. The MRI showed Gd enhancement at the left facial nerve. Under antiviral and steroid treatment, the outcome was favorable with marked improvement at 2 months. Conclusion: COVID-19 increases the risk for HZV infection, probably through induced depression of the cellular immunity. Our pediatric patient presented with RHS during the course of latent COVID-19 infection, firstly reported here. RHS can be the only presenting symptom of COVID-19. We recommend testing these patients even if there are no other manifestations.
Keywords: COVID-19; Ramsay Hunt Syndrome; Peripheral Facial Palsy; Varicalla Zoster

Çiğdem Genç Sel

Turkey

Osman Karslı

Turkey

 

 


®2002-2021 ICNApedia