Efficacy observation of botulinum toxin type A in elderly patients with primary intractable trigeminal neuralgia / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effects of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) in elderly patients with primary intractable trigeminal neuralgia.Methods 27 elderly patients with primary intractable trigeminal neuralgia were treated with BTX-A local multiple point injection.The efficacy was assessed by visual analog scores (VAS) before and 1 week,2 weeks,1 month,3 months and 6 months after the treatment.Results VAS scores was (9.2±1.1),(5.8±3.0),(3.6± 2.3),(2.3±2.3),(3.2±2.9) and (4.6±3.2) before and 1 week,2 weeks,1 month,3 months and 6 months after BTX-A treatment respectively.VAS score was gradually decreased,reached the lowest at 1 month after BTX-A injection,and then was gradually increased.There were significant differences in VAS scores between between pre-and post-treatment (P＜0.05).The efficiency was 37.0％,85.2％,92.6％,70.4％ and 59.3％ at 1 week,2 weeks,1 month,3 months and 6 months after the treatment respectively.There were significant differences in efficacy between different time points after the treatment (all P＜0.05).3 patients had the transient numbness of mouth askew and incomplete eyelid closure and recovered spontaneously after 4-8 weeks.No severe adverse effects were found in the other 27 patients.Conclusions BTX-A is safe and effective in the treatment of primary intractable trigeminal neuralgia in elderly patients.