The Role of Viral Infection in Acute Peripheral Facial Palsy

Thirty-three patients with acute non-traumatic peripheral facial palsy were studied. In one patient, varicella-zoster virus was isolated from CSF. Antibody against the same virus was present in CSF, and rising titre was demonstrated in serum. In two cases, herpes virus hominis was isolated from the nasopharynx. CF-antibody tests indicated recent viral infection in 7 other cases. One additional patient had clinical signs of herpes zoster oticus. In most of these 11 patients, but also in the majority of the remaining 22 patients, an acute phase reaction was present, and serum and CSF immunoglobulins were increased. Thus, an active or recent infection (probably viral) seemed to precede or coincide with the facial palsy in most cases in both groups.