Patients are satisfied with less frequent retreatment intervals for botulinum toxin injections, according to a study published in the April issue of Dermatologic Surgery.

Joel Schlessinger, M.D., from the Advanced Skin Research Center at the University of California Irvine, and colleagues evaluated patient satisfaction with a twice-yearly retreatment schedule with the botulinum toxin AbobotulinumtoxinA (ABO) in the glabellar lines. Satisfaction was measured in 120 patients at one year.

The researchers found that 95 percent of patients were "highly satisfied" or "satisfied" with their treatment outcomes at 12 months. FACE-Q total scores showed patients were less bothered by glabellar lines and felt better about their facial appearance with each treatment compared with baseline. At 12 months, approximately half of patients had a one-grade improvement or more compared with baseline. Effect was detected at a median onset of two days. Twenty-seven patients (23 percent) reported a total of 45 treatment-emergent adverse events, including one patient who reported mild injection site bruising, which was deemed to be related to the study injection procedure. Ninety-eight percent of patients said they would receive treatment again.

"These results were supported by a rapid onset and long duration of action, high levels of subject satisfaction and overall psychological wellness, and a highly favorable benefit-risk profile," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to Galderma.

Abstract/Full Text