Open AccessThe efficacy and safety of botulinum toxin type A in treatment of trigeminal neuralgia and peripheral neuropathic pain: A meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials
Author(s) -
Wei Jiangshan,
Zhu Xiangyu,
Yang Guang,
Shen Jun,
Xie Peng,
Zuo Xiaohua,
Xia Lei,
Han Qiu,
Zhao Ying
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
brain and behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 41
ISSN - 2162-3279
DOI - 10.1002/brb3.1409
Subject(s) - medicine , postherpetic neuralgia , meta analysis , trigeminal neuralgia , placebo , neuropathic pain , cochrane library , randomized controlled trial , adverse effect , anesthesia , number needed to treat , analgesic , subgroup analysis , neuralgia , relative risk , confidence interval , pathology , alternative medicine
Background Although recent studies have shown that botulinum toxin‐A (BTX‐A) has a good analgesic effect on trigeminal neuralgia (TN) and peripheral neuropathic pain (PNP), the quality of evidence is low due to limited data. This meta‐analysis is used to synthesize existing evidence for the treatment of these conditions with BTX‐A. Methods Relevant trials were accessed by using an electronic search in databases (Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov ). Data from included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the efficacy and safety of BTX‐A in treating TN and PNP were extracted for meta‐analysis. Results Finally, 10 RCTs ( n = 391) were included in this meta‐analysis. The pooled effect of BTX‐A was superior to placebo based on pain intensity (SMD = −0.48, 95% CI [−0.74, 0.23] at 1 month, SMD = −0.58, 95% CI [−0.91, −0.24] at 2 months, and SMD = −0.55, 95% CI [−0.87, −0.22] at 3 months). Number needed to treat (NNT) for 50% pain intensity reduction showed better effect of BTX‐A on TN and postherpetic neuralgia (PN). Adverse events associated with BTX‐A were similar to placebo (OR = 1.58, 95% CI [0.51, 4.87], p = .424). Conclusion Pooled data from our meta‐analysis suggest that BTX‐A is efficacious and safe in treating TN and PNP. However, due to the limited sample size and heterogeneity, further larger and well‐designed RCTs are imperative to validate these findings.