Facial and Abducens Nerve Palsies Following COVID-19 Vaccination: Report of Two Cases

ABSTRACT

A broad spectrum of neurological side effects has been reported after immunisation for COVID-19, including functional neurological disorders, cerebral vascular events, cerebral venous thrombosis, intracerebral haemorrhage, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, cranial nerve palsies, and otologic manifestations. Multiple cranial neuropathies have also been reported following vaccination in which involvement of VII nerve is the most prevalent, followed by the VI, III, and IV nerves. We describe two male patients, one with with facial nerve palsy and the other with abducens nerve palsy following COVID-19 vaccination. The patient with facial nerve palsy received the AstraZeneca vaccine 2 days before the symptoms began. In contrast, the patient with the abducens palsy had received his first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine 7 days previously. Both patients demonstrated a gradual recovery within the next 2 months. Further studies are required to investigate the proper relationship between cranial nerve palsies and vaccinations.

KEYWORDS:

• Seventh nerve palsy
• facial nerve palsy
• sixth nerve palsy
• COVID-19
• vaccination

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Patient consent and ethics statement

The authors took the patients’ permission to publish their information.

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Funding

The authors reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.