Discussion:
COVID-19 can cause neurological symptoms such as stroke, Guillain-Barre
syndrome, transverse myelitis, epilepsy, and cranial nerve palsies in
nearly 36% of individuals. Peripheral nerve lesions affect 8% of the
population. COVID-19 infection can cause Bell’s palsy, which is one of
the neurological symptoms [4]. Bell’s palsy is preferred by 15-20
people per 100,000 in the general population [7].
Bell’s palsy is a face motor neuron injury that affects the lower motor
neurons. It’s usually idiopathic; however hypertension, diabetes,
obesity, pregnancy, preeclampsia, trauma, tumors, infections, autoimmune
illnesses, and vacuities have all been linked to it. The etiology of
Bell’s palsy in COVID-19 is unknown, but it could be due to direct
inflammation of the facial nerve, which causes edema and nerve
compression in the canal. It could also be caused by an immune reaction.
COVID-19 infection is linked to a low lymphocyte count, which can lead
to herpes zoster virus reactivation in the facial nerve ganglia,
resulting in facial palsy. The majority of Bell’s palsy cases improved
on their own over time, however 5-10% of cases left with residual
facial weakness [4].
Despite this, we report the first incidence of Bell’s palsy following
AstraZeneca vaccine, but no conclusive proof of a link between Bell’s
palsy and COVID-19 vaccination exists at this time.
According to a study conducted by Wan and colleagues in Hong Kong on the
relationship between Bell’s palsy and the mRNA-based BNT162 b2 vaccine,
patients who received COVID-19 vaccine have a higher risk of getting
Bell’s palsy than those who were not vaccinated [8].
The observed prevalence of Bell’s palsy among vaccinated persons was no
greater than the expected background rate, according to the US Food and
Drug Administration and the UK Medicine and Healthcare Product
Regulatory Agency [9].