Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T18:04:29.608Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Herpes and the head and neck: the difficulties in diagnosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

Elizabeth J. Whallett  and
Ahmes L. Pahor
Elizabeth J. Whallett
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, City Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
Ahmes L. Pahor*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, City Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: Mr A. L. Pahor, M.A., F.R.C.S., D.L.O., Consultant ENT Surgeon, ENT Department, City Hospital, Dudley Road, Birmingham B18 7QH.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A case of primary herpes of the head and neck is presented. The exact source of infection and the precise diagnosis proved difficult to establish, but evidence tended to support a diagnosis of varicella zoster infection as opposed to a herpes simplex infection, though a dual infection was not ruled out.

Herpes simplex has specific clinical features which usually make its distinction from varicella zoster clear cut. In this case we relied heavily on laboratory investigations to improve the accuracy of our diagnosis since the clinical characteristics were blurred.

Unlike varicella zoster there has been little written about herpes simplex infections specifically affecting the ear, face and neck.

Keywords

Herpes virus, humanHerpes simplex
Type
Clinical Records
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 113 , Issue 6 , June 1999 , pp. 573 - 577
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Communicable Disease Report Working Party (1970) Virus Complement Fixation Tests – Diagnostic Titres. Public Health Laboratory Service. CDR 70/12.Google Scholar
Crooks, R. J., Jones, D. A., Fiddian, A. P. (1991) Zosterassociated chronic pain: An overview of clinical trials with acyclovir. Scandanavian Journal of Infectious Diseases (Suppl 78): 62–68.Google ScholarPubMed
Dalton, G. A. (1960) Bell's palsy: Some problems of prognosis and treatment. British Medical Journal 1: 1765–1770.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ebbell, B. (1937) The Papyrus Ebers. Oxford University Press, London, (52).Google Scholar
Elliot-Smith, G., Dawson, W. R. (1924) Egyptian Mummies. George Allen and Unwin Ltd, London, p 105.Google Scholar
Ghalioungui, P. (1987) The Ebers Papyrus. Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, Cairo, p 3.Google Scholar
Glezen, W. P., Fernald, G. W., Lohr, J. A. (1975) Acute respiratory disease of university students with special References to the etiologic role of herpesvirus hominis. American Journal of Epidemiology 101: 111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herberden, 1767. Quoted by Kaplan, p 327.Google Scholar
Hirsch, B. E. (1992) Infections of the external ear. American Journal of Otolaryngology 13:3: 145–155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaplan, A. S. (1973) The Herpes Virus. Academic Press. New York and London, pp 327, 341–348.Google Scholar
Last, R. J. (1993) Regional and applied anatomy (McMinn, R. M. H., ed.) 8th Edition. Churchill and Livingstone, London, p 641.Google Scholar
Mindel, A. (1989) Herpes simplex virus. Springer-Verlag. London, p 67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molinari, J. A., Merchant, V. A. (1989) Herpesviruses: Manifestations and transmission. Journal of California Dental Association 17: 24–31.Google ScholarPubMed
Morgan, M., Nathwani, D. (1992) Facial palsy and infection: The unfolding story. Clinical Infectious Diseases 14: 263–271.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nahmias, A. J., Dowdle, W. R. (1968) Antigenic and biologic differences in herpes virus hominis. Progress in Medical Virology 10: 110.Google Scholar
Nerurkar, L. S., West, F., May, M., Madden, D. L., Sever, J. L. (1983) Survival of herpes simplex virus in water specimens collected from hot tubs in spa facilities and on plastic surfaces. Journal of the American Medical Association 250: 3081–3083.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Driscoll, K. J., McShane, D. P. (1992) Herpes zoster oticus – diagnosis and treatment. Irish Medical Journal 85: 115–116.Google ScholarPubMed
Pahor, A. L. (1979) Herpes zoster of the larynx – how common? Journal of Laryngology and Otology 93: 93–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roizman, B., Lopez, C. (1985) The Herpesviruses. Plenum Press, London. Vol 4, p 70.Google Scholar
Stevens, J. G. (1989) Human herpesviruses: a consideration of the latent state. Microbiological Reviews 53: 318–332.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thiers, B. H. (1990) Acyclovir in the treatment of herpes virus infections. Dermatologic Clinics 8: 583–587.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uri, N., Greenberg, E., Meyer, W., Kitzes-Cohen, R. (1992) Herpes zoster oticus: Treatment with Acyclovir. Annals of Otorhinolaryngology 101: 161–162.Google ScholarPubMed
Watson, C. P. N., Deck, J. H., Morshead, C., Van der Kooy, D., Evans, R. J. (1991) Post-herpetic neuralgia: further postmortem studies of cases with and without pain. Pain 44: 105–117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wildy, P. (1973) Herpes: History and classification, in The Herpes Viruses (Kaplan, A. S., ed). Academic Press, New York, p 1.Google Scholar
Wood, M. J. (1991) Herpes zoster and pain. Scandanavian Journal of Infectious Diseases (Suppl 80): 53–61.Google ScholarPubMed