Association Between Herpes Simplex Virus-1 Infection and Idiopathic Unilateral Facial Paralysis in Children and Adolescents.

We studied the association between herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) infection and Bell palsy in children. Thirty-three of 42 affected patients had a positive HSV-1 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay compared with 16 of 41 controls (P = 0.0003). Ten of 47 affected patients had a positive HSV-1 polymerase chain reaction compared with 4 of 45 of controls (P = 0.08). Our findings support an association between HSV-1 infection and Bell palsy in children.

Khine H, Mayers M, Avner JR, Fox A, Herold B, Goldman DL.

From the *Division of Emergency Medicine, and †Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Children\’s Hospital at Montefiore, Albert Einstein of College Medicine, Bronx, NY; and ‡Division of infectious Diseases, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY.