title: Quality of Life in Patients with Focal Hyperhidrosis before and after Treatment with Botulinum Toxin A.
abstract: The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of treatment with BTX-A in quality of life of patients suffering from primary focal hyperhidrosis. Materials and Methods. A total of 119 patients (62 females and 57 males) between 18 and 65 years suffering from moderate to severe focal hyperhidrosis were treated with BTX-A. Thirty-nine patients suffered from axillary hyperhidrosis, 47 patients from palmar hyperhidrosis, 12 patients from plantar hyperhidrosis, and 21 patients from palmar and plantar hyperhidrosis. A baseline and posttreated examination of patients 6 months after BTX-A is included. The Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale (HDSS) was chosen to assess the disease severity and the modified Dermatology Life Quality Index was used (DLQI) to assess the quality of life. Results. Quality of life showed a significant improvement after treatment with BTX-A. The total DLQI score resulted significantly lower than the basal value (P < 0.0001). The seriousness of hyperhidrosis significantly decreased after the treatment (P < 0.0001). In addition, there was notable difference between the posttreatment DLQI scores and pretreatment severity of hyperhidrosis by sex. Conclusions. Treatment with BTX-A led to the reduction of disease severity and improvement of quality of life, while it is a safe, easy to use method with minimal side effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, A. Sygros Hospital, 16121 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Anargyros
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kouris
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, A. Sygros Hospital, 16121 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Kalliopi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Armyra
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, "Attikon" University Hospital, 12462 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Christodoulou
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, A. Sygros Hospital, 16121 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Polixeni
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Karimali
authors.affiliation: Department of Wound Healing, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF103EU, UK.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Karypidis
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, A. Sygros Hospital, 16121 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kontochristopoulos