Effectiveness of Botulinum Toxin A injection in managing mobility related outcomes in adult patients with cerebral palsy - systematic review.

PURPOSE Intramuscular Botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) is used in the management of focal spasticity in cerebral palsy (CP). We aimed to conduct a systematic review to assess current literature on the use of BTX-A in the management of mobility related outcomes among adult persons with spastic CP. METHODS All studies reporting on the use of BTX-A in the management of spastic CP among adult persons were identified by searching the following electronic databases: PubMed, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, and EMBASE. RESULTS Six studies were included in the review. Most studies were conducted in mixed patient groups comprising patients with movement disorders, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy and other disorders requiring therapy for spasticity. BTX-A was shown to be effective in improving spasticity related outcomes among persons with CP but mixed results were shown for functional outcomes. CONCLUSIONS More studies are required on exclusive CP cohorts using recommended and currently used scales, incorporating Quality of life and patient satisfaction scales. Results from long term follow up studies will be valuable for better evaluation of the effectiveness of BTX-A in the management of spasticity related outcomes among adult persons with CP.