Evaluation of the Efficacy of the Injection of Botulinum Toxin A vs Scopolamine Patches in the Treatment of Drooling in Children With Cerebral Palsy

NCT ID: NCT03616067

Last Updated: 2026-01-30

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: TERMINATED
• Clinical Phase: PHASE3
• Total Enrollment: 23 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-04-27
• Study Completion Date: 2025-09-22

Brief Summary

Cerebral palsy is the first cause of motor disability in developed countries. It is associated with altered motor function but also with mental, sensorial and behavior deficiencies. Drooling frequently occurs in children with cerebral palsy (37 to 58%). It causes multiple medical and social complications which can all increase disability and reduce quality of life for the patients and their family. Drooling treatments are various and includes orofacial rehabilitations, anticholinergic medications, botulinum toxin A and B salivary gland injections. Surgeries could also be used, but their benefits are often outweighed by the risk.

• Orofacial rehabilitation is firstly recommended, even if few studies evaluated its efficacy.
• Medication by Scopoderm®, a cutaneous anticholinergic drug, is frequently used in spite of frequent side effects and a lack of evidence regarding efficacy.
• Botulinum toxin salivary gland injections (Botox®) were shown to be effective in reducing the severity of drooling consequences for the patient quality of life up to 12 months after the injections (Reid 2008).

A recent survey carried showed that treatment by Botox® injection would be preferred by professional to Scopoderm® patch, because of better tolerance and efficacy, even if Scopoderm® remained more used by professionals (Chaleat-Valayer 2016). However, a Cochrane review (Walshe 2012) concluded that there is 1) no strong consensus regarding assessment or the timing of all treatments 2) not enough efficacy studies with high level of evidence, 3) mostly efficacy studies vs placebo or no intervention 4) a lack of long term treatment assessment 5) a lack of studies on the patient quality of life.

Our study will be a comparative randomized clinical trial with an active control arm. The hypothesis is that therapeutic treatment of drooling in children with cerebral palsy consisting of a standardized rehabilitation treatment associated with a botulinum toxin A injection (Botox®) in the salivary glands is more effective than the same rehabilitation treatment associated with a treatment by scopolamine patches (Scopoderm®).

The main outcome will be assessed 15 months after initiation of treatment to evaluate long-term effectiveness. Patients from both arms of the trial will received rehabilitation, in order to compare treatment efficacy as it is done in real conditions of treatment. The efficacy of the treatment will be assessed on the impact of the drooling perceived by the patients and their family rather than on the measure of salivary production, as recommended (Walshe 2012).

Conditions

Cerebral Palsy

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Botox® injection arm

Botox® injection in salivary glands will be performed one month after inclusion. It will be performed with one injection point per gland (parotids and submandibulars).

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Botox® injection

Intervention Type: DRUG

Botox® injection in salivary glands will be performed one month after inclusion. It will be performed with one injection point per gland (parotids and submandibulars)

Scopoderm® patches arm

Scopoderm® patches will be initiated one month after inclusion. The patches will be renewed every 3 days, alternating behind each ear

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Scopoderm® patches arm

Intervention Type: DRUG

Scopoderm® patches will be initiated one month after inclusion. The patches will be renewed every 3 days, alternating behind each ear.

Interventions

Botox® injection

Botox® injection in salivary glands will be performed one month after inclusion. It will be performed with one injection point per gland (parotids and submandibulars)

Intervention Type: DRUG

Scopoderm® patches arm

Scopoderm® patches will be initiated one month after inclusion. The patches will be renewed every 3 days, alternating behind each ear.

Intervention Type: DRUG

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Aged 4 to 18 years old,
• Cerebral palsy with pathological drooling,
• Significant impact of drooling on the children (DIS score ≥40),
• Affiliated or beneficiary of a social security scheme,
• At least one of the parents understanding and speaking French,
• Written consent form signed by both parents

Exclusion Criteria

• Previous history of surgery for drooling,
• Injection of botulinum toxin (all locations) in the 3 months prior to the inclusion,
• Treatment by scopolamine patch (Scopoderm®) or other anticholinergic (Artane®, etc.) in the month prior to inclusion,
• Contraindication to the anesthetic or sedation,
• Contraindication to one of the treatments studied (glaucoma, myastenia),
• Swallowing disorder (to saliva) or absence of spontaneous swallowing reflex not investigated by nasoscopy
• On-going or programmed orthodontic treatment over the study period.
• Untreated oro-mandibular dystonia (isolated lingual dystonia accepted)
• Untreated bruxism
• Untreated clinical gastro esophageal reflux
• Untreated dental inflammatory condition (dental caries, gingivitis…)

• Minimum Eligible Age: 4 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Hospices Civils de Lyon

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Sandrine TOUZET, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Hospices Civils de Lyon

Locations

CHU d'Angers

Angers, , France

CHU-Bordeaux

Bordeaux, , France

Hôpital Femme Mère Enfant - HCL

Bron, , France

CHU- Estaing

Clermont-Ferrand, , France

CHU-Grenoble

Grenoble, , France

Centre Médico-Chirurgical de Réadaptation des Massues

Lyon, , France

AP-HM

Marseille, , France

APFESEAN Nantes

Nantes, , France

CHU-Nimes

Nîmes, , France

Centre médico- infantile

Romagnat, , France

Hôpitaux de Saint-Maurice

Saint-Maurice, , France

Countries

France

Other Identifiers

69HCL18_0235

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id