Abstract
Purpose :
Strategies to mitigate pain associated with periorbital onabotulinumtoxinA (BOTOX) injections for Benign Essential Blepharospasm (BEB) are insufficient in the current era. We conducted a randomly controlled trial to test the hypothesis that using a handheld facial vibration device would improve BOTOX injection associated pain for patients with BEB.
Methods :
Adults 18 or older with a clinical diagnosis of BEB were randomized to receive facial vibration with the handheld Yeamon vibration device (frequency = 100Hz) to only one side of their face (right vs. left) during periorbital BOTOX injections. Following treatment, subjects completed a pain rating survey scaled 1-10 (1 = no pain, 10 = worst pain) for each side of the face. Baseline demographic data was collected. Pain rating between treatment and control was compared using linear mixed effect model regression.
Results :
21 patients participated in the trial. Median age and years since diagnosis was 65 and four years, respectively. For treatment pain rating, the median score was 4.0; for no treatment, the median score was 5.0. Mean score and standard deviation between treatment and control was 4.4 ± 2.1 vs. 5.7 ± 2.1. Vibration stimulation was associated with a statistically significant lower score when controlling for age of patient and number of injected units during treatment (p=0.0198).
Conclusions :
Using a handheld facial vibration device is associated with reduction in patient pain during periorbital BOTOX injections for BEB. This can be considered for use in the injection specialist’s armamentarium to improve patient comfort.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.