Bell Palsy Incidence Higher With SARS-CoV-2 Infection Than Vaccine

TUESDAY, May 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Incidence of Bell palsy is significantly more common following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection than after receipt of SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations, according to a review published online April 27 in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.
Ali Rafati, M.D., from Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to compare the incidence of Bell palsy in people receiving COVID-19 vaccines versus unvaccinated individuals or placebo recipients.
The researchers found that when pooling data from four phase 3 randomized clinical trials, Bell palsy incidence was significantly higher in recipients of COVID-19 vaccines versus placebo recipients (77,525 vaccine recipients versus 66,682 placebo recipients; odds ratio [OR], 3.00; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.10 to 8.18). However, there was no significant increase seen in Bell palsy after administration of messenger RNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines (eight studies; 13,518,026 doses versus 13,510,701 unvaccinated; OR, 0.70; 95 percent CI, 0.42 to 1.16). There was no significant difference in the incidence of Bell palsy among 22,978,880 first-dose recipients of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine versus 22,978,880 first-dose recipients of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (OR, 0.97; 95 percent CI, 0.82 to 1.15). Furthermore, Bell palsy was significantly more common after SARS-CoV-2 infection (2,822,072) compared with after COVID-19 vaccinations (37,912,410; relative risk, 3.23; 95 percent CI, 1.57 to 6.62).
"This study shows evidence for the association between SARS-CoV-2 and Bell palsy; however, this finding does not equate to causality, and further research is required to verify this association and investigate possible mechanisms," the authors write.
Related Posts
Cómo gestionar la ansiedad
VIERNES, 24 de febrero de 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Es natural que todo el mundo...
CDC Warns of Dangerous Infection Risk With EzriCare Eye Drops
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials are...
Casi 59,000 trabajadores cárnicos contrajeron la COVID, y 269 murieron, según un informe
JUEVES, 28 de octubre de 2021 (HealthDay News) -- El número de trabajadores de...
Do You Have ‘COVID-somnia’? These Sleep Tips Might Help
MONDAY, Jan. 3, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- If the pandemic is causing you to lose...