OBJECTIVES

Botulinum toxin-A (BoNT-A) is well-established as effective treatment for the symptoms of cervical dystonia (CD) but the effects of BoNT-A diminish towards the end of a treatment cycle. The objective of this study was to measure the impact of CD symptoms and the reappearance of symptoms with waning BoNT-A effects on patients’ employment, comparing results from the United States (US) versus Europe.

METHODS

Online patient survey to capture the treatment experiences of adults with CD. Eligible respondents had ≥2 previous BoNT-A treatments. The survey was deployed in the US & Europe (Italy, France, Germany and United Kingdom). Descriptive analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Data from 209 respondents (US=97, EU=112, 81% women, mean age 49.7 years) were analyzed. Overall, 73% of respondents were employed. European respondents tended to report a greater impact of CD on their time at work than US respondents; more European patients reported not being able to work or working part time due to their CD (54% vs 42% in US). Symptom re-emergence between BoNT-A injections was common (87–88%), with significant impact on quality of life. Working respondents in US were more likely to report ‘work inefficiency’ (72% vs 60% in Europe), while more European respondents said they had ‘reduced working’ (31% vs 18% in US). Respondents in both regions rated their CD as having small impact on their ability to work at peak effect (2.1/10 in US & 3.2/10 in Europe, where 10=very strong impact) increasing to moderate impact when BoNT-A effects start to wane (4.6/10 and 5.5/10, respectively) and reaching strong impact at the end of the injection cycle (6.9/10 & 7.1/10, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Symptom re-emergence was common across both regions with significant work impact. Although this was a post-hoc descriptive analysis, results show different patterns of reported patient experiences between the US and Europe.