Onabotulinum Toxin A (Botox) in the Treatment of Pharyngo-esophageal Dysphagia

Summary

Dysphagia in patients with stroke, multiple sclerosis, parkinsonism or dystonia can occur due to relative hypertonia of the cricopharyngeus muscle. In the resting state, muscle is contracted and relaxes only during deglutition. Treatment of dysphagia by injecting botulinum toxin in the cricopharyngeus was described by Schneider et al. in 1994. More than 100 cases have been described after that, however there are no randomized controlled trials. A meta-analysis from Cochrane has also concluded that there is no sufficient evidence to conclude regarding the efficacy and safety of Botulinum toxin injection in cricopharyngeal dysfunction. So this study is necessary to fill this void in knowledge

Timeline

Start

2023-08-11

Primary completion

2027-08-31

Completion

2027-09-01

Publications

• Background Terre R, Valles M, Panades A, Mearin F. Long-lasting effect of a single botulinum toxin injection in the treatment of oropharyngeal dysphagia secondary to upper esophageal sphincter dysfunction: a pilot study. Scand J Gastroenterol. 2008;43(11):1296-303. doi: 10.1080/00365520802245403.
• Background Parameswaran MS, Soliman AM. Endoscopic botulinum toxin injection for cricopharyngeal dysphagia. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2002 Oct;111(10):871-4. doi: 10.1177/000348940211101002.
• Background Schneider I, Thumfart WF, Pototschnig C, Eckel HE. Treatment of dysfunction of the cricopharyngeal muscle with botulinum A toxin: introduction of a new, noninvasive method. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 1994 Jan;103(1):31-5. doi: 10.1177/000348949410300105.
• Background Regan J, Murphy A, Chiang M, McMahon BP, Coughlan T, Walshe M. Botulinum toxin for upper oesophageal sphincter dysfunction in neurological swallowing disorders. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 May 6;2014(5):CD009968. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009968.pub2.
• Background Samal P, Goyal V, Makharia GK, Das CJ, Gorthi SP, Y VV, Singh MB, Srivastava MVP. Transfer Dysphagia Due to Focal Dystonia. J Mov Disord. 2018 Sep;11(3):129-132. doi: 10.14802/jmd.17081. Epub 2018 Sep 30.
• Background Moerman MB. Cricopharyngeal Botox injection: indications and technique. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2006 Dec;14(6):431-6. doi: 10.1097/MOO.0b013e328010b85b.
• Background Ali GN, Wallace KL, Laundl TM, Hunt DR, deCarle DJ, Cook IJ. Predictors of outcome following cricopharyngeal disruption for pharyngeal dysphagia. Dysphagia. 1997 Summer;12(3):133-9. doi: 10.1007/PL00009527.
• Background Allen J, White CJ, Leonard R, Belafsky PC. Effect of cricopharyngeus muscle surgery on the pharynx. Laryngoscope. 2010 Aug;120(8):1498-503. doi: 10.1002/lary.21002.
• Background Kuhn MA, Belafsky PC. Management of cricopharyngeus muscle dysfunction. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2013 Dec;46(6):1087-99. doi: 10.1016/j.otc.2013.08.006. Epub 2013 Oct 11.
• Background Kelly EA, Koszewski IJ, Jaradeh SS, Merati AL, Blumin JH, Bock JM. Botulinum toxin injection for the treatment of upper esophageal sphincter dysfunction. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2013 Feb;122(2):100-8. doi: 10.1177/000348941312200205.
• Background Zaninotto G, Marchese Ragona R, Briani C, Costantini M, Rizzetto C, Portale G, Zanetti L, Masiero S, Costantino M, Nicoletti L, Polidoro A, Feltrin G, Angelini C, Ancona E, Guidolin D, Parenti AR. The role of botulinum toxin injection and upper esophageal sphincter myotomy in treating oropharyngeal dysphagia. J Gastrointest Surg. 2004 Dec;8(8):997-1006. doi: 10.1016/j.gassur.2004.09.037.

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Indications