Oral Propranolol Therapy for Infantile Hemangioma: Long-term Follow-up

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Dermatology
• Vascular Anomalies
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Infantile hemangiomas (IH) are common benign vascular tumors in infants.
• Beta-blocker therapy, particularly propranolol, is the standard treatment for IH.
• Limited data exists on the long-term outcomes of beta-blocker therapy for IH.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the long-term efficacy and recurrence rates of oral propranolol for infantile hemangiomas.
• To assess the impact of treatment duration and age at initiation on IH outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 67 IH lesions in 47 patients treated with oral propranolol (2 mg/kg/d).
• Median treatment duration of 9 months, with a median follow-up of 48 months.
• Comparison of outcomes based on the need for maintenance therapy and age at treatment initiation.

Main Results:

• Comparable efficacy between regimens with and without maintenance therapy (83.3% vs. 92.0%).
• Higher recurrence rates observed in lesions requiring maintenance therapy.
• Significantly better response and lower recurrence in patients treated at ≤5 months of age (95.0%) versus >5 months (87.0%).

Conclusions:

• Longer durations of maintenance therapy do not offer additional advantages for IH improvement.
• Early initiation of propranolol treatment (≤5 months) leads to better outcomes and reduced recurrence rates in infantile hemangiomas.
• Beta-blocker therapy is effective for IH, but careful consideration of treatment timing and maintenance is warranted.