Satisfaction with botulinum toxin treatment: a cross-sectional survey of patients with cervical dystonia

Abstract

Objective:

Botulinum toxin is widely utilized as a first-line therapy for cervical dystonia (CD). Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of this treatment, but little data exist on patient satisfaction. To address this question, a structured patient survey was conducted in Germany, France, the US, and Canada (n = 136 patients with CD).

Methods:

Specific information was collected on the patients’ current and prior botulinum toxin treatment cycles and their overall quality-of-life (including completion of the Cervical Dystonia Impact Profile-58 [CDIP-58]).

Results:

Patients rated the mean onset of action for their previous injection as 3.8 days, with peak effect at 3.6 weeks and a decline in effects at 9.5 weeks. While most patients were satisfied with their current therapy, only 50.7% were very satisfied, 42.6% were somewhat satisfied, and 6.6% not at all satisfied with their current therapy. Patient satisfaction was lowest just prior to injection and highest at the time of peak effect. Approximately 45% of patients reported that they would prefer a treatment cycle of ≤10 weeks. The mean patient rating of current state of health was above 50 on a visual analog scale from 0 (low) to 100 (high). CDIP-58 results indicated that patients continued to have symptoms on all domains.

Conclusions:

Botulinum toxin is generally very effective for the treatment of CD. However, this survey indicates that patient satisfaction typically declines prior to re-injection, and many patients may prefer an injection interval of less than the standard 12 weeks. While the survey was based on subjective patient recollections, and the degree to which patient satisfaction is attributable to the control of neurological symptoms remains unclear, prospective studies are clearly warranted to confirm the time course of patient satisfaction and to determine the optimal treatment parameters with botulinum toxins.

Keywords::

• AbobotulinumtoxinA
• Botox
• Xeomin
• IncobotulinumtoxinA
• Cervical dystonia
• Dysport
• OnabotulinumtoxinA

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Erratum

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Declaration of funding

This study was sponsored by Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC.

Declaration of financial/other relationships

K.S. is a part-time employee of Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC, is a consultant for Boehringer Ingelheim, Ipsen, Merz Pharmaceuticals, Nupath, Synosia Therapeutics, and Teva, has been a speaker for Boehringer Ingelheim, Ipsen, Merz Pharmaceuticals, and Teva, and has received grants from Acadia Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Impax Pharmaceuticals, Phytopharm, and Synosia Therapeutics. R.R. has been a consultant to, participated in advisory boards for, or received research support from Allergan, Boston Scientific, Lundbeck, Merz Pharmaceuticals, Neuronova, and the National Parkinson Foundation. B.O. is an employee of Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC. All authors contributed to the writing of the first draft of the manuscript, subsequent review and critique, and all authors approved the final draft prior to submission.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the patients who were interviewed during this study and the interviewers who conducted the sessions with the patients. The authors would also like to thank Hans Erich Diede, PhD, and Marco Koch of Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH who conceived the patient survey; Psyma International Medical Marketing Research GmbH for assistance with the co-ordination of the study; Eric J. Pappert, MD of Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC for his scientific review of the manuscript; Starr L. Grundy, BSc Pharm of SD Scientific, Inc., and Hannah FitzGibbon, PhD of Complete Medical Communications Ltd for technical writing contributions, funded by Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC.