Podcast 674: Facial Nerve Palsy in Kids

Contributor:  Aaron Lessen, MD

Educational Pearls:

• Facial nerve palsy (Bell’s palsy) can occur in pediatric patients with Lyme disease, viral infection, or even leukemia
• One trial sought out to find if steroids and acyclovir would benefit pediatric patients with facial nerve palsy
• However, during screening process, around 1% of enrollees had leukemia (5 of the 644 patients) 
• This is important as steroids can partially treat the leukemia thereby prolonging diagnosis and put the patient at risk for tumor lysis syndrome

References

Babl FE, Kochar A, Osborn M, et al. Risk of Leukemia in Children With Peripheral Facial Palsy. Ann Emerg Med. 2021;77(2):174-177. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2020.06.029

Summarized by John Spartz, MS4 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD

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