Efficacy and Safety of Botulinum Toxin A and Pulsed Radiofrequency on Postherpetic Neuralgia: A Randomized Clinical Trial

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Abstract
This study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT‐A) and pulsed radiofrequency (RF) in the clinical treatment of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). A total of 100 patients with PHN were randomly divided into two groups (n = 50 per group): RF group and BoNT‐A group. Based on conventional drug treatment, patients were treated with either a single nerve root pulsed radiofrequency therapy or a single local subcutaneous injection of BoNT‐A in the lesion area. All the patients were followed up for 24 weeks on pain scores, sleep quality, anxiety, and depression scores, etc. In the last follow‐up at the end of 24 weeks postoperation, the pain scores of patients in both groups were significantly lower than those before the operation (P < 0.05), indicating that both treatments were effective against PHN; however, there was no significant difference between these two groups (P > 0.05). It is noteworthy that the subcutaneous injection of BoNT‐A is relatively easy to administer and less expensive compared to RF. Therefore, we believe that the subcutaneous injection of BoNT‐A is an effective and safe method for the treatment of PHN.
Funding Information
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (81571066)
  • Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education (16KJA320002)

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