Issue |
J Oral Med Oral Surg
Volume 26, Number 4, 2020
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | 39 | |
Number of page(s) | 4 | |
Section | Cas clinique et revue de la littérature / Up-to date review and case report | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/mbcb/2020034 | |
Published online | 26 August 2020 |
Up-to-Date Review And Case Report
Lockdown-related idiopathic facial paralysis: illustration of an indirect victim of the COVID-19 pandemic?
1
Oral Surgery resident, Department of Dental Medicine, Bretonneau Hospital, Paris, France
2
Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery, Department of Dental Medicine, Bretonneau Hospital, Paris, France & Faculty of Dental Medicine, Paris University, Montrouge, France
* Correspondence: nathan.moreau@aphp.fr
Received:
4
June
2020
Accepted:
8
July
2020
Introduction: In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are numerous reports of SARS-CoV-2-related symptoms in many medical subspecialties. Unfortunately, there seems to be little focus on indirect victims of COVID-19, such as diseases/ailments secondary to COVID-19-related lockdown in relevant countries. Observation: We report a case of idiopathic facial paralysis (Bell's Palsy) that occurred in an otherwise-healthy 49-year-old French chef during nationwide lockdown, possibly fostered by severe concerns regarding his professional prospects. Other manifestations of severe anxiety were also observed such as tension-type headache and psoriasis outbreaks. Prednisone and valaciclovir were initiated, in association with simple counselling. Commentary and conclusion: As HSV-1 reactivation in the facial nerve is suspected in the pathophysiology of idiopathic facial paralysis, this case could constitute an example of lockdown-related disease and an illustration of indirect manifestations of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such indirect diseases are likely to increase as the pandemic continues to take its toll both medically and socio-economically.
Key words: COVID-19 / facial paralysis / Bell's / palsy
© The authors, 2020
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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