Facial Nerve Palsy in a Patient with Acute Pancreatitis: A Complication of Systemic Inflammation or a Mere Co-existence?

Abstract

Acute pancreatitis can trigger a systemic inflammatory response leading to wide range of complications that could be local or systemic. Viruses have been implicated in most of the infective etiology of acute pancreatitis. Cranial nerve palsy in acute pancreatitis patient is a rare event. A 35-year-old male had mild pancreatitis which resolved with treatment. After a week of admission, he developed right sided facial palsy which gradually improved with oral steroids, acyclovir, and physiotherapy. Whether it was a complication of acute pancreatitis or a mere co-existence secondary to some infective cause could not be proven.
Keywords: Acute pancreatitis; facial nerve palsy; viruses