Ultra-Long-Term Therapy of Benign Essential Blepharospasm with Botulinumtoxin A—30 Years of Experience in a Tertiary Care Center

Abstract

Aim of this study was to investigate the long-term results of botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injections for the treatment of benign essential blepharospasm (BEB) and to report our experience with (ultra-)long-term treatment with onabotulinumtoxin-A. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis at a university hospital. Patients with BEB and BoNT-A treatment were assigned to the Total Blepharospasm Group, patients with ≥21 onabotulinumtoxin-A injections to the Ona Long-Term Group. The Total Blepharospasm Group (n = 1940) included 33,933 BoNT-A injections. The age of patients at symptom onset was (mean ± SD) 58.0 ± 13.1 years, and 70.4% were female. The Ona long-term group (n = 234) included 10,632 onabotulinumtoxin-A injections. In this group, patients received 45.4 ± 22.9 injections with a mean dose of 22.2 IU ± 0.5. The duration of treatment was 12.6 ± 5.4 years, ranging from 2.9 to 30.0 years. The effect–duration–dose quotient did not change during long-term treatment. The observed side effects were comparable in type and frequency to other studies, even with the (ultra-)long treatment with onabotulinumtoxin-A. Our results, based on one of the largest patient populations and a treatment duration of up to 30 years, impressively demonstrate that onabotulinumtoxin-A is a safe and effective therapy for essential blepharospasm, even in the ultra-long term.