A Case of Ramsay Hunt Syndrome Complicated by Cerebellitis

ABSTRACT

Cerebellitis associated with herpes zoster has rarely been observed. We report here a 76-year-old man who had a history of anterior resection for sigmoid colon cancer and presented during chemotherapy with vesicular rash of the left ear, neuralgic pain in the postauricular area, and ataxic gait. After a while, he developed left peripheral facial palsy, fever, aggravated gait ataxia, and prolonged nausea and vomiting. The left facial nerve was enhanced on gadolinium-enhanced brain magnetic resonance imaging. We suspected that the patient had Ramsay Hunt syndrome accompanied by cerebellitis, which has not been reported previously. Over the course of several months, during which he was treated with acyclovir and corticosteroid, his symptoms improved significantly.