Question

A 51 year old female patient comes to the clinic with a triad of ipsilateral facial paralysis, ear pain, and vesicles in the car canal and auricle. The NP suspects herpes zoster. What is this syndrome called?

a. Heralds triad syndrome
b. Ramsay Hunt syndrome
c. Herpetic whitlow syndrome
d. Postherpetic neuralgia syndrome

Answer 1

Ramsay Hunt syndrome is characterized by ipsilateral facial paralysis, ear pain, and vesicles in the ear canal and auricle, resulting from the reactivation of herpes zoster affecting the facial nerve.

Step-by-step explanation:

The syndrome characterized by a triad of symptoms including ipsilateral facial paralysis, ear pain, and vesicles in the ear canal and auricle, in a patient suspected to have herpes zoster, is known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

Herpes zoster, also known as shingles, involves the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, which remains dormant in nerve cells after an initial chickenpox infection. When reactivated, it can result in shingles, the symptoms of which can include painful lesions on the face or trunk. Ramsay Hunt syndrome occurs when the herpes zoster virus affects the facial nerve near one of the ears leading to facial paralysis and the associated symptoms described in the triad. This condition should not be confused with Herpetic whitlow, which is a lesion on the fingers, or Postherpetic neuralgia, which is chronic pain after the lesions have healed.