Author(s)

Rohaizam Japar Jaafar¹, Kalaiselvi Thuraisingam¹, Asfa Najmi Mohamad Yusof², Iskandar Hailani¹

¹Department of Otorhinolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS), Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
²Department of Otorhinolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS), Hospital Umum Sarawak, Kuching, Malaysia.

Introduction: Bell’s palsy is an uncommon adverse effect of the COVID-19 vaccine that has been reported in clinical trials. Even though a few studies have linked the vaccination to Bell’s palsy, the actual mechanism is uncertain. Objectives: To describe the demographic data and COVID-19 vaccines-related data with Bell’s palsy in a tertiary centre of Malaysia, Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was observed among vaccinated recipients who developed Bell’s palsy within 60 days and sought treatment in the Otorhinolaryngology Department Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia between 1^st May 2021 and 30^th November 2021. The demographic data, clinical history, and vaccination history were collected from clinical records. The facial paralysis was graded according to the House-Brackmann grading system. Results: A total of 26 patients with a mean age was 38.5 years; higher incidence in younger age, below 60 years old (n = 24), specifically 18 - 30 years old (n = 11). We observed an equal number in relation to gender and onset (after the first or second dose) of facial palsy. Predominantly were Malay (n = 21) and only 6 patients had comorbidities. We found there was no difference in regard to the type of vaccine among Bell’s palsy patients; Pfizer (n = 9), followed by Sinovac (n = 9) and AstraZeneca (n = 8). Conclusion: Bell’s palsy was found to be a possible adverse event of the COVID-19 vaccine. Younger groups were noted as susceptible to this rare adverse effect. However, the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risk of Bell’s palsy, which has a good prognosis. More research with larger samples is needed to determine the true relationship between vaccination and Bell’s palsy.

Bell’s Palsy, COVID-19, Vaccination

Jaafar, R. , Thuraisingam, K. , Yusof, A. and Hailani, I. (2023) Bell’s Palsy Post COVID-19 Vaccination: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study in a Single Tertiary Center. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 11, 47-53. doi: 10.4236/jbm.2023.1112005.