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Study of Cognitive Function in Children Treated with Propranolol for Infantile Hemangioma
Nieves González-Llorente1, Isabel Del Olmo-Benito1, Natalia Muñoz-Ollero1
1Department of Learning & Speech-Language Pathology, Hospital del Niño Jesús, Madrid, Spain.
Insights
Infantile hemangioma (IH) treatment with oral propranolol in infants did not show long-term adverse effects on cognitive or memory functions. Children treated for IH demonstrated intelligence and memory scores comparable to the general population.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric pharmacology
- Developmental neuroscience
- Child psychology
Background:
- Oral propranolol is the primary treatment for infantile hemangiomas (IHs).
- Concerns exist regarding potential long-term impacts of infant propranolol exposure on cognitive and memory development.
- Assessing neurodevelopmental outcomes in children treated for IH is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the long-term cognitive and memory functions in children treated with oral propranolol for infantile hemangiomas during infancy.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 23 children aged 5 to 7.5 years, previously treated for IH with oral propranolol, underwent cognitive assessment using the WPPSI-IV.
- Memory functions were evaluated using the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL).
- Statistical analysis involved comparing study group scores against normal distributions using the Shapiro-Wilk W test.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were found in most composite scores between the treated group and the general population on both WPPSI-IV and TOMAL tests.
- One minor statistical anomaly was noted in the WPPSI-IV composite score (mean intelligence) due to an unusually high score, showing positive asymmetry and concentration around the average (p = 0.01).
Conclusions:
- Cognitive and memory development in children treated with propranolol for IH in infancy appears to be similar to that of the general population.
- The study findings do not support significant disturbances in intelligence or memory development following infantile propranolol treatment for IH.
- Long-term neurodevelopmental safety of propranolol for IH is suggested by these results.
Background:
Oral propranolol is considered the first choice for the treatment of infantile hemangiomas (IHs). There is a concern that administering propranolol in newborns and infants could induce adverse effects in learning and memory processes in the long term. The purpose of this study was to assess cognitive and memory functions in children who had been treated with propranolol for IH during their infancy.
Methods:
A total of 23 children between 5 and 7.5 years of age who had been treated with oral propranolol for IH during infancy were tested for cognitive functions with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Fourth Edition (WPPSI-IV) test and for memory functions with the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL).
Results:
Comparison of our sample with a normal distribution by a Shapiro-Wilk W test showed no significant difference for any of the composite scores in the WPPSI-IV and TOMAL tests except for positive asymmetry and concentration of scores around average (p = 0.01) in the WPPSI-IV composite score (mean intelligence), due to one atypically high score.
Conclusions:
The distribution of scores for intelligence and memory scales in our study population was similar to that in the reference general population. These results fail to support any significant disturbance in intelligence and memory development in children treated during infancy with propranolol for IH.
