Efficacy and Safety of Botulinum Toxin A and Pulsed Radiofrequency on Postherpetic Neuralgia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Abstract

This study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) and pulsed radiofrequency (RF) in the clinical treatment of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). A total of 100 patients with PHN were randomly divided into two groups (n = 50 per group): RF group and BoNT-A group. Based on conventional drug treatment, patients were treated with either a single nerve root pulsed radiofrequency therapy or a single local subcutaneous injection of BoNT-A in the lesion area. All the patients were followed up for 24 weeks on pain scores, sleep quality, anxiety, and depression scores, etc. In the last follow-up at the end of 24 weeks postoperation, the pain scores of patients in both groups were significantly lower than those before the operation (P < 0.05), indicating that both treatments were effective against PHN; however, there was no significant difference between these two groups (P > 0.05). It is noteworthy that the subcutaneous injection of BoNT-A is relatively easy to administer and less expensive compared to RF. Therefore, we believe that the subcutaneous injection of BoNT-A is an effective and safe method for the treatment of PHN.

• Authors: Liping Chen, Yaoyao Zhang, Yanru Chen, Ting Wang, Kai Sun, Hao Tang, Wen Shen, Fuhai Ji
• Journal: Contrast media & molecular imaging (Contrast Media Mol Imaging) Vol. 2022 Pg. 1579937 ( 2022) ISSN: 1555-4317 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 35685657 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Liping Chen et al.

Chemical References

• Botulinum Toxins, Type A

Topics

• Botulinum Toxins, Type A (therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Injections, Subcutaneous
• Neuralgia, Postherpetic (drug therapy)
• Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment (methods)
• Radio Waves