A risk-stratified approach toward safely resuming OnabotulinumtoxinA injections based on dosing and ambulatory status in pediatric patients with cerebral palsy during the Coronavirus pandemic of 2019 (COVID-19).

Purpose: After the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic of 2019-2020 (COVID-19), physicians who inject OnabotulinumtoxinA (BoNT-A) were left with determining risks and benefits in pediatric patients with cerebral palsy. Many of these patients have pre-existing conditions that make them more prone to COVID-19 symptoms, and this susceptibility potentially increases after BoNT-A injections.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 500 patients identified 256 pediatric patients with cerebral palsy who received an intramuscular BoNT-A injection to determine relative doses used for each Gross Motor Functional Classification Score (GMFCS).