International Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Open Access

Abstract

Use of Botulinum Toxin and Phenol to Treat Muscle Tone Disorders in Pediatric Patients Seen at a Rehabilitation Center

Anny Michelly Paquier Binha*, Amanda Victoria Casagrande, Valeria Cassefo Silveira

Objective: To understand the epidemiological profile of the outpatient clinic for neurolytic block at a rehabilitation center, and to compare the outcomes of use of phenol and botulinum toxin, based on achieved goals and clinical parameters.

Methods: A longitudinal, analytical, census-based study, with data collected from the pediatric chemical block outpatient clinic, between January 2022 and December 2023. The epidemiological data, number of previous blocks, initial and achieved goals, scores, type of block, side effects, results measured by the Ashworth scale, and range of motion by goniometry were extracted from the electronic medical records on the day of the injection and at the four week reassessment visit.

Results: A total of 253 procedures were performed. The most frequent clinical and topographic diagnoses were cerebral palsy (95.7%) and spastic diplegia (54.5%), respectively. The main goal proposed was positioning (78.7%). The goals were achieved in 63% of blocks. The side effect more often reported was pain on injection site (11.1%). There was no statistically significant difference in gain of range of motion, measured in degrees; improvement in spasticity, assessed by the Ashworth scale; and achieved goals, among the muscle groups treated with phenol or botulinum toxin for elbow extension, hip abduction, and knee extension.

Conclusion: There was no difference in the parameters assessed for use of botulinum toxin or phenol. We found low percentage and severity of adverse effects after neurolytic blocks performed by specialized professionals at a reference rehabilitation center.

Published Date: 2026-05-24; Received Date: 2026-04-24