Rapid Resolution of Delayed Facial Palsy in Miller Fisher Syndrome With Steroid Therapy

Abstract

Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS), a variant of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), is characterized by the classic triad of ataxia, areflexia, and ophthalmoplegia. Approximately 20% of MFS patients experience facial weakness, with a subset developing delayed facial palsy (DFP) after other neurological symptoms have peaked or begun to improve. Initially, DFP was considered a natural progression of MFS, leading to recommendations against additional treatment. However, DFP persisted for more than 50 days without additional treatment in some patients, prompting additional steroid therapy, resulting in quicker resolution of DFP. We describe an MFS patient who presented with the classic triad of MFS and subsequently developed DFP. The patient was treated with methylprednisolone pulse therapy (1,000 mg/day for 3 days) followed by oral prednisolone (60 mg/day) with a gradual taper, resulting in rapid and complete resolution of DFP, suggesting an alternative mechanism behind DFP, opening avenues for further research and insights into this matter. MFS-DFP is rarely reported in the literature. In addition to this case, we aim to provide a comprehensive literature review on MFS-DFP, to further expand the existing knowledge on the current concepts of DFP-MFS.

J Med Cases. 2024;15(11):341-346
doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc4305