Facial nerve palsy and Kawasaki disease

LKH Poon, KS Lun, YM Ng
Department of Paediatrics, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 30 Gascoigne Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong

We report on a case of facial nerve palsy associated with Kawasaki disease in a 2-year-old boy. Facial nerve palsy is one of the rare neurological manifestations of Kawasaki disease. Twenty-seven other cases that have been reported in the literature are reviewed. There is a high incidence of coronary artery aneurysm (52%) and a female predilection in patients with Kawasaki disease. The facial palsy associated with the disease is self-limiting. Recovery is spontaneous in surviving patients, although the use of intravenous immunoglobulin may be able to hasten the recovery.

Hong Kong Med J 2000;6:224-6

Key words: Facial nerve diseases; Facial paralysis; Immunoglobulins, intravenous/therapeutic use; Mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome/complications