Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38077706›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of case reports in internal medicine2023

Successful Treatment of Post COVID-19 Neurogenic Dysphagia with Botulinum Toxin.

Riccardo Canta, Lucilla Vestito, Paola Castellini, Carlo Trompetto, Laura Mori, Anna De Giovanni, Luca Puce, Lucio Marinelli

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of case reports in internal medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 28% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Riccardo Canta *Department of Neuroscience (DINOGMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy.
Lucilla Vestito *Department of Neuroscience (DINOGMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy.
Paola CastelliniIRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy.
Carlo TrompettoDepartment of Neuroscience (DINOGMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy.
Laura MoriDepartment of Neuroscience (DINOGMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy.
Anna De GiovanniDepartment of Neuroscience (DINOGMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy.
Luca PuceDepartment of Neuroscience (DINOGMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy.
Lucio MarinelliDepartment of Neuroscience (DINOGMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy.
Ospedale Policlinico San Martino · ITUniversity of Genoa · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Dysphagia in post COVID-19 patients could be caused by several factors, including reduced pharyngolaryngeal coordination due to SARS-CoV-2 tropism to the central and/or peripheral nervous system. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of COVID-19-related dysphagia successfully treated with botulinum toxin type A injection. Case description: We report the case of a patient with severe oropharyngeal dysphagia due to COVID-19 confirmed by fibre endoscopy. As a result, the patient required an enteral feeding tube. After two months of traditional swallowing therapies, there was only limited improvement. An electrophysiologic evaluation of the cricopharyngeal muscle was performed and showed a normal inhibition of the cricopharyngeal muscle, followed by a hypertonic rebound. Based on this result, we decided to perform a unilateral laryngeal injection of botulinum toxin type A. After the injection, the patient's swallowing function improved significantly, allowing him to return to oral feeding. Discussion: Newly diagnosed oropharyngeal dysphagia was found in 35.3% of hospitalised patients with COVID-19. There are several possible causes of COVID-19-associated dysphagia, including stroke, encephalitis, critical illness neuropathy, Guillain-Barré syndrome and skeletal muscle injury. In our case, since stroke was excluded by brain MRI, cranial nerve injury was a possible explanation for the difficult recovery of swallowing despite daily swallowing therapy. Conclusion: We suggest that electrophysiology is a valid tool for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia. LEARNING POINTS: SARS-CoV-2 tropism to the central and/or peripheral nervous system can cause dysphagia in post COVID-19 patients.An electrophysiologic approach is useful for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia.A single botulinum toxin type A injection is a valid treatment option to improve the swallowing function in patients with post COVID-19 dysphagia.

Indexed as

botulinum toxinCOVID-19dysphagiaEMG

Identifiers

PMID38077706
PMCPMC10705822
OpenAlexW4389205271

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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.