The Use of Botulinum Toxin for Spasticity in People Affected by Spinal Cord Injury: A Scoping Review Protocol

Abstract

Introduction: Up to 80% of individuals affected by Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) develops spasticity, both in the acute and chronic phases. Botulinum NeuroToxin (BoNT) injections have been proven to be an effective intervention to treat focal spasticity in Stroke, Cerebral Palsy and Multiple Sclerosis. However, to the best of our knowledge, only one systematic review published in 2015 evaluated the efficacy of BoNT in treating spasticity in patients affected by SCI. Objective: We formulated the following research question: 'What is known from the existing literature about the use of BoNT for treating spasticity in patients affected by SCI?'. Material and methods: We will include studies focusing on using BoNT to treat spasticity in patients with SCI due to any cause. We will search the following databases: MEDLINE (via PubMed), Embase, CENTRAL, Scopus, and PEDro. In addition, grey literature and the reference lists of all relevant studies will be searched. Two authors will independently perform the study selection and data extraction phases. Results from the scoping review will be summarized descriptively through tables and diagrams. Keywords: spinal cord injury, spasticity, botulinum toxin