TY - JOUR
T1 - Is Botulinum Toxin Effective in Treating Orofacial Neuropathic Pain Disorders? A Systematic Review
AU - Val, Matteo
AU - Delcanho, Robert
AU - Ferrari, Marco
AU - Guarda Nardini, Luca
AU - Manfredini, Daniele
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/9/1
Y1 - 2023/9/1
N2 - Background: The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the literature regarding the clinical use of botulinum toxin (BTX) to treat various orofacial neuropathic pain disorders (NP). Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using Medline, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library databases. Only randomized clinical trials (RCT) published between 2003 and the end of June 2023, investigating the use of BTX to treat NP, were selected. PICO guidelines were used to select and tabulate the articles. Results: A total of 6 RCTs were selected. Five articles used BTX injections to treat classical trigeminal neuralgia, and one to treat post-herpetic neuralgia. A total of 795 patients received BTX injections. The selected studies utilised different doses and methods of injections and doses. All the selected studies concluded superiority of BTX injections over placebo for reducing pain levels, and 5 out 6 of them highlighted an improvement in the patient’s quality of life. Most of the studies reported transient and mild side effects. Conclusion: There is evidence of the efficacy of BTX injections in orofacial pain management. However, improved study protocols are required to provide direction for the clinical use of BTX to treat various orofacial neuropathic pain disorders.
AB - Background: The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the literature regarding the clinical use of botulinum toxin (BTX) to treat various orofacial neuropathic pain disorders (NP). Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using Medline, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library databases. Only randomized clinical trials (RCT) published between 2003 and the end of June 2023, investigating the use of BTX to treat NP, were selected. PICO guidelines were used to select and tabulate the articles. Results: A total of 6 RCTs were selected. Five articles used BTX injections to treat classical trigeminal neuralgia, and one to treat post-herpetic neuralgia. A total of 795 patients received BTX injections. The selected studies utilised different doses and methods of injections and doses. All the selected studies concluded superiority of BTX injections over placebo for reducing pain levels, and 5 out 6 of them highlighted an improvement in the patient’s quality of life. Most of the studies reported transient and mild side effects. Conclusion: There is evidence of the efficacy of BTX injections in orofacial pain management. However, improved study protocols are required to provide direction for the clinical use of BTX to treat various orofacial neuropathic pain disorders.
KW - botulinum toxin type A
KW - essential trigeminal neuralgia
KW - orofacial neuropathic disorders
KW - pain
KW - quality of life
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85172172529&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/toxins15090541
DO - 10.3390/toxins15090541
M3 - Review article
C2 - 37755967
AN - SCOPUS:85172172529
SN - 2072-6651
VL - 15
JO - Toxins
JF - Toxins
IS - 9
M1 - 541
ER -