Introduction and objective:

Hypoglossal nerve palsy is a rare entity characterized by impaired speech and swallowing problems. In this study we performed a review of the etiologies of this entity.

Method:

We performed a search in PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus and WoS, selecting those articles in which the etiology of hypoglossal nerve palsy is mentioned.

Results:

There are two studies with a large number of patients included. In the first study, published in 1996, the authors included 100 patients. The most common etiology is neoplastic, followed by trauma and ischemic damage. In the second one, published in 2016, with 245 patients included, the major etiology is postoperative iatrogenic, followed by neoplastic and idiopathic cause.

Discussion:

There are few studies with significant number of patients included with hypoglossal nerve palsy. The first date from the 90's, in which the main etiology was neoplastic. In the last study, published in 2016, the major etiology is postoperative, followed by neoplastic and idiopathic. With a 20-year difference between the two main studies, there is a change in the etiology. The increase in postsurgical cases may be due to an increase in the number of interventions, being these interventions longer and more aggressive than before. In recent years there have been an increasing number of idiopathic cases, difficult to explain.

Conclusions:

Hypoglossal nerve palsy is a rare entity. The most frequent etiology is tumor. The increase in cases associated with surgical interventions stands out, as well as idiopathic cases. In this systemic review we can conclude that the main etiology of hypoglossal nerve palsy is tumor, followed by postsurgical and idiopathic iatrogenic.

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