Severe postherpetic neuralgia and facial paralysis in the oral and periauricular regions managed with acupuncture and electroacupuncture: a case report

Junlong Li; Jing Wang; Guiping Li; Jieying Zhang; Boru Zhang; Shu Wang

doi:10.3389/fpain.2024.1474103

Severe postherpetic neuralgia and facial paralysis in the oral and periauricular regions managed with acupuncture and electroacupuncture: a case report

Front Pain Res (Lausanne). 2024 Dec 23:5:1474103. doi: 10.3389/fpain.2024.1474103. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Junlong Li^{1

2}, Jing Wang³, Guiping Li^{1

2

4}, Jieying Zhang¹, Boru Zhang¹, Shu Wang^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
² National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin, China.
³ The Second Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
⁴ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin, China.
⁵ Tianjin Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated Hospital, Tianjin, China.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Cerebropathy Acupuncture Therapy of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.

Abstract

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a severe and persistent pain condition following herpes zoster infection. This case report details the analgesic effects of acupuncture combined with electroacupuncture in a 66-year-old male patient presenting with PHN and peripheral facial paralysis, who showed limited response to conventional treatment with corticosteroids and antiviral medications. Following a comprehensive treatment protocol, including pricking-cupping bloodletting, and targeted acupuncture, the patient experienced significant pain relief and improved facial nerve function. This report highlights the potential of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in managing PHN, with sustained improvement observed over a one-year follow-up period.

Keywords: Ramsay-Hunt syndrome; acupuncture; case report; electroacupuncture; facial paralysis; postherpetic neuralgia.

Publication types

Case Reports

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work is supported by the Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Program project (Grant No. 18PTLCSY00040, No. 20ZYJDSY00020), the Open Project of the National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Grant No. NCRCOP2023002), and the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University, Grant No. IRT1167).