Worldwide Survey of Clinician Practice on use of Adjunctive Therapies Following Botulinum Toxin Injection for Spasticity.

OBJECTIVE: Non-pharmacological adjunctive therapies can be used alongside botulinum toxin injection to enhance its efficacy. The objective of this global study was to determine the current practice and perception among clinicians of the use of adjunctive therapies after botulinum toxin injections for the treatment of limb spasticity. METHODS: A questionnaire with 22 questions on clinical practice demographics, self-reported use and clinician opinion on barriers to the use of complementary therapies, and priorities for future research was translated into 7 languages and distributed worldwide through national and international professional associations concerning (neuro)rehabilitation. RESULTS: A total of 527 clinicians from 52 countries responded to the survey. Most commonly used physical interventions were: active exercise programmes at home (81%), stretching programmes at home (81%), and splinting (70%), followed by active movement exercises (65%) and within 30 min of botulinum toxin injection and constraint induced movement therapy (63%). The main barriers reported by clinicians to provision of these interventions were clinicians' lack of time, limited financial resources, and lack of evidence. Future research should focus primarily on immediate active movement exercises and passive stretching. CONCLUSION: Worldwide, clinicians often recommend adjunctive therapies after a botulinum toxin injection to reduce spasticity. The most commonly used physical interventions among clinicians were active exercises at home, stretching at home, and splinting. Lack of evidence, time and financial constraints were identified as barriers to providing these interventions.

Impact of integrated upper limb spasticity management including botulinum toxin A on patient-centred goal attainment: rationale and protocol for an international prospective, longitudinal cohort study (ULIS-III).

OBJECTIVES: Describe the rationale and protocol for the Upper Limb International Spasticity (ULIS)-III study, which aims to evaluate the impact of integrated spasticity management, involving multiple botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injection cycles and concomitant therapies, on patient-centred goal attainment. Outline novel outcome assessment methods for ULIS-III and report initial evaluation data from goal setting in early stages of the study. DESIGN: Large international longitudinal cohort study of integrated upper limb spasticity management, including BoNT-A. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: ULIS-III is a 2-year study expected to enrol >1000 participants at 58 study centres across 14 countries. INTERVENTIONS: The study design is non-interventional and intended to reflect real-life clinical practice. It will describe injection practices and additional treatment strategies, and record clinical decision-making in a serial approach to long-term spasticity management. OUTCOME MEASURES: ULIS-III will use a goal-directed approach to selection of targeted standardised measures to capture the diversity of presentation, goals and outcomes. ULIS-III will implement the Upper Limb Spasticity Index, a battery of assessments including a structured approach to goal attainment scaling (Goal Attainment Scaling-Evaluation of Outcomes for Upper Limb Spasticity tool), alongside a limited set of standardised measures, chosen according to patients' selected goal areas. Concomitant therapy inputs, patient satisfaction with engagement in goal setting, health economic end points and health-related quality of life data will also be captured. RESULTS OF INITIAL EVALUATION OF GOAL QUALITY: Recruitment started in January 2015. By June 2015, 58 sites had been identified and initial data collected for 79 patients across 13 sites in 3 countries. Goal setting data were quality-checked and centres rated on the basis of function-related and Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timed (SMART) characteristics of goal statements. Overall, 11/13 centres achieved the highest rating (A++). CONCLUSIONS: ULIS-III will provide valuable information regarding treatment of and outcomes from real-life upper limb spasticity management worldwide. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02454803; Pre-results.