DOI: 10.1097/01.idc.0000086413.30743.92

,  

Issn Print: 1056-9103

Publication Date: 2002/11/01


Print

Ramsay Hunt Syndrome: An Unusual Variant After Dental Infection: Case Report and Literature Review

Jacqueline M. Achkar; Rosemary Wieczorek; Susan Zolla-Pazner

    loading  Checking for direct PDF access through Ovid

Excerpt

Ramsay Hunt Syndrome (RHS) is caused by reactivation of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection. As early as 1907, Hunt pointed out that both facial paralysis and auditory or vestibular complications could accompany trigeminal, occipital, or even cervical herpes zoster infection. 1 RHS refers to either of 2 conditions, herpes zoster oticus or any cephalic zoster complicated by facial paralysis and/or by vestibulocochlear dysfunction.
Facial paralysis due to VZV reactivation has been well described. 2–4 However, little is reported about RHS following dental procedures 5,6 and there are no reports associated with dental infection. We report the first case of an unusual presentation of RHS associated with a dental infection. The literature is reviewed and we discuss the reactivation of VZV related to oral inflammation caused by dental procedures, surgery, and infection. Although this patient did not develop the pathognomic vesicles of herpes zoster oticus, he presented with clinical signs that were characteristic for RHS. Due to diagnostic uncertainty among the clinicians, VZV reactivation was not considered in the initial differential diagnosis, which resulted in delayed antiviral treatment.
    loading  Loading Related Articles