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Combining botulinum toxin and phenol to manage spasticity in children

Judith L Gooch1, Christopher P Patton

  • 1Primary Children's Medical Center, 100 N. Medical Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. pcjgooch@ihc.com

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
|July 9, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Concurrent injections of botulinum toxin and phenol effectively manage spasticity in children with cerebral palsy (CP). This combined approach allows for multiple muscle injections, increasing treatment efficacy with infrequent adverse reactions.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Pediatrics
  • Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

  • Spasticity in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and other neurologic conditions presents significant management challenges.
  • Current treatments often require targeted interventions to improve motor function and quality of life.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To detail the techniques and adverse events associated with combined botulinum toxin and phenol injections for pediatric spasticity.
  • To evaluate the safety and efficacy of this dual-injection strategy.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective case series design was employed.
  • Data from 68 pediatric patients undergoing 90 injection sessions at a tertiary care children's hospital were analyzed.
  • Injections combined botulinum toxin (Botox or Myobloc) and phenol for spasticity management.

Main Results:

  • A mean of 14 muscles were injected per session.
  • Average phenol dosage was 9.5mL (0.6mL/kg).
  • Adverse reactions were infrequent, including two cases of dysesthetic hand pain and one systemic reaction to Myobloc.

Conclusions:

  • Concurrent botulinum toxin and phenol injections are a viable strategy for managing spasticity in pediatric patients.
  • This combination therapy enables the treatment of numerous muscles, potentially at maximal recommended doses, with a low incidence of adverse events.
Abstract

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