Botulinum toxin type a (BOTOX) in the management of glossopharyngeal neuralgia- A case series

Abstract

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia [GPN] is a rare, debilitating neurologic condition characterized by intermittent pain radiating to the tongue, pharynx or ear that can be triggered by talking, swallowing or chewing. With an incidence of only 0.2-0.7 persons/100,000/year, the diagnosis is extremely challenging and often gets misdiagnosed and undiagnosed. Many treatment options have been tried by various clinicians in the past, such as medical therapy (antidepressants, opiods, antiepileptics, steroids, and membrane-stabilizing agents), nerve blocks with or without additives, gamma knife radiosurgery, radiofrequency ablation and microvascular decompression. Each of the aforementioned treatment modalities has its own merits and limitations. In the pursuit of delivering optimal treatment for pain relief in GPN and to improve patient's quality of life, we have explored the use of Botulinum toxin type A [BOTOX (Allegran®)]. BOTOX has been widely used in the treatment of chronic facial pain such as headaches, migraine, and trigeminal neuralgia. However, the use of BOTOX in the management of GPN has not been reported in the literature. Despite the small number of cases in our series, BOTOX therapy in GPN appears to be promising. However, further research with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods is needed to fully establish its efficacy and safety profile