Temporal Bone Rhabdomyosarcoma Presenting as Acute Peripheral Facial Nerve Paralysis

• Published in: Pediatric emergency care Vol. 22; no. 10; pp. 743 - 745
• Main Authors: Reid, Samuel R, Hetzel, Thomas, Losek, Joseph
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc 01-10-2006; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Subjects: Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Bone marrow, stem cells transplantation. Graft versus host reaction; Bone Neoplasms - complications; Bone Neoplasms - diagnosis; Bone Neoplasms - therapy; Child; Cyclophosphamide - therapeutic use; Dactinomycin - therapeutic use; Ear, auditive nerve, cochleovestibular tract, facial nerve: diseases, semeiology; Facial Nerve Diseases - etiology; Facial Paralysis - etiology; Female; Humans; Intensive care medicine; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Medical sciences; Non tumoral diseases; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Radiotherapy; Rhabdomyosarcoma - complications; Rhabdomyosarcoma - diagnosis; Rhabdomyosarcoma - therapy; Temporal Bone; Transfusions. Complications. Transfusion reactions. Cell and gene therapy; Vincristine - therapeutic use; Human; Peripheral nerve; facial nerve paralysis; Nervous system diseases; Intensive care; Sarcoma; Motor system disorder; Bell palsy; Facial paralysis; Rhabdomyosarcoma; Facial nerve; Malignant tumor; Striated muscle disease; Cranial nerve disease; ENT disease; Neurological disorder; Child; Resuscitation
• ISSN: 0749-5161; 1535-1815
• DOI: 10.1097/01.pec.0000236834.69688.8f

Facial palsy is not an uncommon presentation to an emergency department. Whereas most patients will ultimately receive a diagnosis of Bell palsy (idiopathic peripheral seventh cranial nerve palsy), a subset will have an identifiable cause for their facial paralysis. Children are more likely to have an identifiable cause than are adults. We present a case in which a child presented with acute peripheral facial nerve palsy and was found to have temporal bone rhabdomyosarcoma. The key clinical finding was the presence of both 7th and 12th cranial nerve palsy.