Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33674930›Full record

SynthesisAesthetic plastic surgery2021

The Efficacy and Safety of Botulinum Toxin Injections in Preventing Postoperative Scars and Improving Scar Quality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Zhihua Qiao, Haojun Yang, Lewei Jin, Sandi Li, Xiancheng Wang

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Aesthetic plastic surgery, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.7field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Prospects for Use of Botulinum Toxin Type A for Prevention of Hypertrophic and Keloid Scars after Surgeries.Indian journal of plastic surgery : official publication of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Zhihua QiaoDepartment of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery and Burns, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Haojun YangDepartment of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Lewei JinDepartment of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery and Burns, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Sandi LiDepartment of General Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Xiancheng WangDepartment of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery and Burns, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China. wangxiancheng64@hotmail.com.
Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University · CNCentral South University · CNXiangya Hospital Central South University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundScars exposed on the body surface lead to a large psychological burden on patients. However, no satisfactory scar treatments exist. Botulinum toxin type A is a neurotoxin that has been widely applied in the plastic and cosmetic surgery field. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess the efficacy and safety of botulinum toxin in scar management.

methodsPubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Web of Science were searched for randomized controlled trials that evaluated the efficacy of botulinum toxin injections in preventing postoperative scars and improving scars quality and were published prior to Dec. 29, 2020. The outcome indicators were the visual analog scale score, Vancouver scar scale score, Stony Brook scar evaluation scales score, scar width, patient self-assessment results, and complications.

resultsSeventeen randomized controlled trials with a total of 633 cases were identified in this meta-analysis. The quantitative synthesis results showed that compared with the control group, the botulinum toxin group had a significantly lower VSS score (MD = -0.97, 95%CI = -1.56 to -0.39, p = 0.001), higher VAS score (MD = 1.26, 95%CI = 1.04 to 1.47, p < 0.00001), thinner scar width (MD = -0.25, 95%CI = -0.37 to -0.12, p < 0.0001) and higher patient satisfaction (RR = 3.38 95%CI = 1.45 to 7.89, p = 0.005). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the number of adverse events.

conclusionsThis meta-analysis demonstrated that botulinum toxin injections can significantly improve cosmetic appearance and postoperative scar quality. At the therapeutic dose, no significant complications were observed, indicating that botulinum toxin injections are safe. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these evidence-based medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Indexed as

Botulinum Toxins, Type ACicatrixHumansInjections, IntralesionalNeurotoxinsTreatment OutcomeBotulinum Toxins, Type ANeurotoxinsBotulinum toxinComplicationEfficacyPostoperativeScars

Identifiers

PMID33674930
OpenAlexW3134631151

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.