A one-year retrospective economic evaluation of botulinum toxin type A treatment of chronic tension headache

The objective was to measure the impact of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) treatment on symptoms and medication utilisation patterns in patients with chronic tension-type headache. A retrospective chart analysis was completed in the Day Hospital of the Regional Referral Headache Centre at Sant’Andrea Hospital in Rome. Clinical charts were randomly selected for 100 patients treated from February 2002 to January 2003. Patients were treated with 100 U of BTX-A every three months for one year by using the Fixed Doses Fixed Sites procedure. Treatment outcome ranged from complete resolution of headache symptoms to a worsening of symptoms resulting in discontinuation. Headache medication use before and after treatment was analysed. After BTX-A treatment, 85% of patients experienced at least some degree of pain relief and reduced their use of analgesics. The reduced percentages of patients using a variety of headache medications after BTX-A treatment results from a reduction in their headache symptoms.