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Pharyngeal dysesthesia in refractory complex partial epilepsy: new seizure or adverse effect of vagal nerve
Cigdem Akman1, James J Riviello, Joseph R Madsen
1Division of Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Children's Hospital of New York, New York 10032, USA. cakman@columbia.neuro.edu
Abstract:
Sensory symptoms are commonly seen in association with focal epilepsy, but viscerosensory auras, such as pharyngeal dysesthesias, are rarely the main clinical manifestation. With the introduction of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) for medically refractory epilepsy, viscerosensory symptoms commonly occur as an adverse effect of VNS. Voice alterations (hoarseness or tremulousness), local neck or throat pain, and cough are the most common adverse effects seen during active stimulation (on-time). Numbness of the throat, neck, or chin, as well as a tingling sensation of the neck and throat is directly related to stimulation intensity. We present a case in which recurrent pharyngeal sensations caused a diagnostic dilemma and in which monitoring the VNS artifact during video/EEG and correlating this with clinical symptoms helped determine the etiology of the recurrent sensory symptoms.