To study the effects of the nationwide curfew on the well-being of patients with cerebral palsy taking botulinum toxin treatment and of their caregivers.
The COVID-19 pandemic
adversely affected the rehabilitation process of people affected by neuromotor
disorders, such as cerebral palsy patients receiving botulinum toxin therapy.
These patients were affected psychophysically, with a noticeable escalation in
muscle stiffness and pain.
To study the effects of the nationwide curfew on
the well-being of patients with cerebral palsy taking botulinum toxin treatment
and of their caregivers.
The structuralized questionnaire by Dressler and
Adib Saberi was used to survey 25 patients on botulinum toxin therapy. The
Caregiver Burden Scale was used to evaluate the caregivers. Due to the curfew,
this treatment was postponed by 9 ± 2.8 months.
About 44% of patients under consideration had augmented muscle cramps, 24% had muscle pain, and 32% both. Curfew affected the quality of life of patients by 68.4 ± 21.1%. All the patients perceived botulinum toxin therapy after the curfew.
A quarter of patients identified the curfew as
inefficient. Before the curfew, the score of the Caregiver Burden Scale was
29.12 ± 11.63, and after the curfew was 37.44 ± 14.85. For 92% of caregivers,
the overall score surged after the lockdown.
Interrupting the therapy considerably aggravated
the psychophysical condition of people with cerebral palsy and can be worrisome
to their caregivers, exposing them to more stress than before. Hence, any kind
of botulinum toxin therapy suspension or delay should be prevented.
Neurological Sciences
The effects of COVID-19 pandemic countermeasures on patients receiving botulinum toxin therapy and on their caregivers: a study from an Italian cohort
Domiziano Tarantino et al.
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