The Effect of Botulinum Toxin Type A on Drooling of Saliva in Cerebral Palsy

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Excessive drooling after the age of 4 is considered pathological. It is quite common in cerebral palsy (CP). It could result in physical and psychological complications which impact the quality of life of patients and their caregivers. A multidisciplinary approach is required for the treatment include non-pharmacological, pharmacological and on rare occasions, surgery. Three patients of CP were evaluated for sialorrhoea using the Teacher Drooling Scale, Thomas-Stonell/Greenberg Assessment of Drooling and Wilkie and Brody Assessment of Drooling. Ultrasound-guided injection was done in bilateral parotid and submandibular glands using the calculated dose of botulinum toxin type A under general anaesthesia. Re-evaluation was done after 24 h of injection, after 1 week and after 4 weeks of injection. All three cases showed improvement after 1 month of intervention according to the three scales used. There were no adverse effects noted during and after the intervention. This report shows that injection of botulinum toxin type A is less invasive as compared to surgical procedures, safe and effective option for the treatment of drooling with no adverse effects.