Cranial Polyneuropathy in Ramsay Hunt Syndrome

Background and Objectives : Ramsay-Hunt syndrome is characterized by otalgia, vesicular eruption on the pinna, retroauricular area or face and facial palsy. It is caused by Herpes zoster infection of the facial nerve in patients of low immune state. Sometimes other cranial nerves can be involved in this syndrome but there is not much information about these because of its rare incidence. The purpose of this report is to study the characteristics of cranial polyneuropathy in Ramsay Hunt syndrome and the clinical differences between the groups of Ramsay-Hunt syndrome with and without polyneuropathy. Materials and Methods : There were 215 cases of facial nerve palsy for 14 years in Yongdong Severance Hospital including 37 cases of Ramsay-Hunt syndrome which were reviewed retrospectively among them. The duration of their clinical follow up was more than 6 months. Results : Cochleovestibular nerve was involved most frequently in Ramsay Hunt syndrome and it was also noted that the symtoms and signs of trigeminal, abducens, glossopharyngeal, vagus and accessory nerves. There was female predominance and higher mean age in the cranial polyneuropathy group. It had worse recovery rate than typical Ramsay-Hunt syndrome but there was no statistical significance. Conclusion : It is suggested that cranial polyneuropathy in Ramsay-Hunt syndrome has different clinical findings from typical Ramsay Hunt syndrome and it is required that evaluation of more cases, study of the pathogenesis, and setting of the diagnostic criteria.ope