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This study was funded by Universitat Politecnica de Valencia in Programa de Ayudas de Investigacion y Desarrollo (PAID-01-20), ISCIII, MCIU, VLC Campus in Convocatoria Ayudas: UPV-La Fe (INBIO): 2016 SPEHG (ID:C18), 2019 sEMG_BONTAv (ID:C06) and funds from private contracts with Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH S.L.

Analysis of institutional authors

Albaladejo-Belmonte, MonicaAuthor

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June 15, 2025
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Treatment of Dyspareunia with Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A: Clinical Improvement and Influence of Patients' Characteristics

Publicated to:International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health. 18 (16): 8783- - 2021-08-01 18(16), DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18168783

Authors: Tarazona-Motes, Marta; Albaladejo-Belmonte, Monica; Nohales-Alfonso, Francisco J; De-Arriba, Maria; Garcia-Casado, Javier; Alberola-Rubio, Jose

Affiliations

Hosp Univ & Politecn La Fe Valencia, Serv Obstet & Ginecol, Valencia 46026, Spain - Author
Inst Invest Sanitaria La Fe, Unidad Bioelect Procesamiento Senates & Algoritmi, Valencia 46026, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Valencia, Ctr Invest & Innovac Bioingn, Edifici 8B,Camino Vera SN, Valencia 46022, Spain - Author

Abstract

The treatment of chronic pelvic pain (CPP) with botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A) has increased lately, but more studies assessing its effect are needed. This study aimed to evaluate the evolution of patients after BoNT/A infiltration and identify potential responders to treatment. Twenty-four women with CPP associated with dyspareunia were treated with 90 units of BoNT/A injected into their pelvic floor muscle (PFM). Clinical status and PFM activity were monitored in a previous visit (PV) and 12 and 24 weeks after the infiltration (W12, W24) by validated clinical questionnaires and surface electromyography (sEMG). The influence of patients' characteristics on the reduction in pain at W12 and W24 was also assessed. After treatment, pain scores and the impact of symptoms on quality of life dropped significantly, sexual function improved and sEMG signal amplitude decreased on both sides of the PFM with no adverse events. Headaches and bilateral pelvic pain were risk factors for a smaller pain improvement at W24, while lower back pain was a protective factor. Apart from reporting a significant clinical improvement of patients with CPP associated with dyspareunia after BoNT/A infiltration, this study shows that clinical characteristics should be analyzed in detail to identify potential responders to treatment.

Keywords

Botulinum toxinBotulinum toxins, type aChronic painChronic pelvic painDyspareuniaFemaleHumansInjectionPelvic painQuality of lifeSensitizationSurface electromyographSurface electromyographyToxin

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2021, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category .

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 2.94, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-18, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 6
  • Europe PMC: 4

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-18:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 41.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 42 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 0.25.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.