Article Text

Download PDFPDF
Acute-onset isolated bilateral palatal palsy in an adolescent
  1. Avinash Shekhar Jaiswal,
  2. Rajeev Kumar,
  3. Prem Sagar and
  4. Rakesh Kumar
  1. Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi, India
  1. Correspondence to Dr Rajeev Kumar; rajeev9843{at}yahoo.co.in

Abstract

A 16-year-old patient presented with sudden-onset difficulty in swallowing food especially for liquids with nasal regurgitation and rhinolalia with no history of fever and limb weakness. Examination revealed bilateral palatal palsy with absence of gag reflex. Other neurological examinations were normal. Investigations were done to rule out any known pathology leading to such a presentation. The symptoms were attributed to an idiopathic acute-onset-acquired bilateral palatal palsy, in the absence of any identifiable cause. This is a rare presentation in adolescent age with no case reported in the literature so far in this age group. Medical management was started and patient showed complete improvement within 2 weeks of his symptoms. Early diagnosis and aggressive management of this condition lead to a favourable prognosis.

  • cranial nerves
  • infection (neurology)
  • otolaryngology / ENT

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request Permissions

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

Footnotes

  • Contributors ASJ contributed to writing of manuscript and patient care; RajK was involved in patient care and reviewed the final version; PS was involved in review of manuscript; RakK reviewed the final version.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.