Reply: Comments and corrections on the REAL DOSE study

✍ Scribed by Raf Magar

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 45 KB
• Volume: 21
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-3185
• DOI: 10.1002/mds.20824

✦ Synopsis

tested under controlled conditions, it has been found to be a more appropriate dose ratio. 8 It is also worthy of note that in this retrospective review, the balance between patient treatments was unmatched. Ninety-four of 114 (82%) received Dysport prior to Botox, whereas only 20 (18%) received Botox prior to Dysport. The dose ratio at which treatment was switched from Dysport to Botox (e.g., 5:1) would therefore influence the number of patients receiving treatment at that particular ratio and thus bias the data. In addition, most patients (86.4%) had received treatment for more than 5 years before switching. The fact that the majority of these patients received Dysport could also have biased the data, as the information obtained after switching treatment was available for a far shorter period (1 year, three or four treatments). Since side effects most commonly occur after the initiation of treatment with BoNT-A, this unbalanced distribution of first treatments could also have biased the incidence of reported adverse events.

In view of the limitations of the information presented, it is difficult to evaluate what could have been an otherwise valuable contribution to this scientific debate.