An Investigation into the Clinical Use of Botulinum Toxin Type A to Treat Post-stroke Hemiplegic Patients with Upper and/or Lower Limb Spasticity / The Japanese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine

ABSTRACT

A multicenter review of the medical records of Japanese post-stroke patients with spastic hemiplegia was conducted to investigate the clinical use of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A) by physicians with expertise in the treatment of upper and lower limb spasticity. An analysis of the data from 307 patients treated with BoNT/A during the period January 1, 2012 to November 30, 2013 provided a variety of information on factors relating to BoNT/A injection outcomes, including the total dose of BoNT/A per treatment session, the dose of BoNT/A per muscle, the number of injection sites per muscle, the method used to locate the muscles to be injected, and the dilution of reconstituted BoNT/A. Our analysis indicated that the dose of BoNT/A administered per muscle was usually selected by taking into consideration the severity of spasticity, rather than the patient's body size. Since the technical expertise of experienced clinicians is summarized in this data, it may serve as a useful reference for the use of BoNT/A in routine clinical practice.