New Research Findings May Help Prevent Tracheostomy in Cerebral
Palsy Patients

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Physicians at Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital recently presented research findings at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting that may provide a new, non-invasive method for opening the airways of both adult and pediatric patients that have become obstructed due to cerebral palsy, stroke, trauma and other neurological conditions.

In the study, pediatric cerebral palsy patients suffering from severe respiratory distress or respiratory failure were injected with botulinum toxin type A, also known by the brand name Botox®, to relieve the tension in their throat muscles to open up their airways.

In patients with cerebral palsy and other spastic neurological conditions, the muscles in the throat become rigid and tight, often obstructing the airway and making it hard for the patient to breathe. Traditionally, physicians perform a tracheostomy to open the airway, which involves making a small incision in the patient’s throat and then inserting a flexible tube into the hole to help the patient breathe without the use of their nose or mouth. As with any surgical procedure, tracheostomy poses risks to the patient, including excessive bleeding, injury to the throat anatomy, and infection.

Botulinum toxin has been used with success to treat rigid muscle tone in cerebral palsy patients and to prevent tracheostomy in patients who have been diagnosed with paradoxical vocal cord movement, a condition in which the vocal cords open and close incorrectly, impairing breathing.

Primary investigators in the study included Dr. Jessica Blick, a medical student at Florida State University College of Medicine; Dr. Rex Northup, a board-certified pediatric critical care physician at Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital; and Dr. Ben Renfroe, a board-certified pediatric neurologist with the Child Neurology Center of Northwest Florida.

For more information on this trial, please contact the Child Neurology Center of Northwest Florida at (850) 932-5055.