RESUMO
Botulinum toxin type A (BTA) injection, marketed as BOTOX, is commonly used as a treatment for a variety of clinical indications and is widely viewed as safe, effective and largely devoid of serious side effects. Anaphylactic reactions to BTA are typically unheard of in the scientific literature. BOTOX is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of cervical dystonia and prophylaxis for chronic migraines. This case report documents a unique instance of allergic reaction to BTA in a 29-year-old woman with cervicogenic headache and cervical dystonia who reported immediate flushing, light-headedness and nausea after receiving BTA injections.
A injeção de toxina botulínica tipo A (BTA), comercializada como BOTOX, é comumente usada como tratamento para uma variedade de indicações clínicas e é amplamente considerada segura, eficaz e amplamente desprovida de efeitos colaterais graves. As reações anafiláticas ao BTA são normalmente inéditas na literatura científica. BOTOX é aprovado pela Food and Drug Administration para o tratamento de distonia cervical e profilaxia de enxaquecas crônicas. Este relato de caso documenta um caso único de reação alérgica ao BTA em uma mulher de 29 anos com dor de cabeça cervicogênica e distonia cervical que relatou rubor imediato, tontura e náusea após receber injeções de BTA.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a chronic neuropathic pain condition affecting one or more divisions of the fifth cranial (trigeminal) nerve. TN is defined by recurrent unilateral electric shock-like pain that is abrupt in both onset and termination. The pain is triggered by innocuous sensory stimuli and is classified as either classic TN, related to vascular compression; secondary TN, due to a tumor along the trigeminal nerve or an underlying disease like multiple sclerosis; or idiopathic TN. Among the various therapies available for TN, carbamazepine remains the first-line treatment. Newer medications have demonstrated efficacy in patients who do not respond to or cannot tolerate carbamazepine. When medical management and neuroablative procedures fail, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) serves as a promising and popular option, with an estimated 34,000 SCS procedures performed annually worldwide. SCS employs the implantation of electrical leads in the epidural space to manage pain. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: A review of literature was conducted to explore the use of cervical spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. METHODS: A MEDLINE/PubMed search using the search terms "spinal cord stimulation" and "trigeminal neuralgia" was employed to find any case reports and research studies (retrospective studies, double-blinded studies, observational studies) on the topic. No date limiters were used for the search. The initial search resulted in 76 non-duplicate entries from the database. After application of the search criteria, 58 studies were excluded because they were not relevant to the study. A further detailed review of the included articles was conducted by all the reviewers. During this phase of the review, additional 6 studies were excluded. A total of 11 studies were included: 7 case reports and 4 retrospective review studies. RECENT FINDINGS: In the review, we discuss 7 different case reports on the use of cervical SCS for trigeminal neuralgia and an additional 4 retrospective studies reviewing outcomes and pain relief in patients who underwent treatment. The case reports and retrospective studies reviewed demonstrated that TN patients realized > 50% pain relief following permanent electrode implantation. In all the cases discussed, complications from SCS were rare and/or not reported. Additionally, most of the cases report that patients who had adequate pain relief from SCS were able to wean off, or significantly reduce, oral medications given the vast improvement in pain reduction. CONCLUSIONS: Cervical spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a safe and effective procedure for patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) who have refractory pain despite the use of medications. In many cases, the procedure provides an adequate level of pain relief with very few complications or side effects. The vast majority of current research on the use of cervical SCS for TN currently consists of case reports and retrospective analysis. In order to further evaluate the efficacy of SCS for treatment, large-scale randomized controlled studies or observational studies need to be conducted to properly evaluate SCS as a treatment modality for trigeminal neuralgia.