MUMPS POLYNEURITIS: QUADRIPLEGIA WITH BILATERAL FACIAL PARALYSIS

The neurologic complications occurring in mumps have frequently been observed and recorded. They may be classified into the following types: (1) meningitis,¹ (2) encephalitis² and (3) neuritis: (a) second, sixth, seventh, eighth, eleventh and twelfth cranial nerves,³ (b) diffuse polyneuritis and (c) localized neuritis. An excellent review of the literature up to 1898 was made by Gallavardin,⁴ and another review to 1915 was made by Feiling.⁵

We record a unique case of polyneuritis in which all extremities of the patient were affected with bilateral facial involvement complicating epidemic parotitis. We have been able to find only four cases of diffuse polyneuritis in the literature—all were described by the French.

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE  Joffroy⁶ was the first to call attention to this syndrome. He reported the case of a child, aged 4½ years, who, during convalescence, developed a quadriplegia three weeks after the onset of epidemic parotitis. Neurologic examination revealed