A Retrospective Study of Infant and Maternal Risk Factors in LUMBAR Syndrome

LUMBAR syndrome is the association of segmental infantile hemangiomas that affect the Lower part of the body with Urogenital anomalies, hemangioma Ulceration, spinal cord Malformations, Bony deformities, Anorectal malformations, Arterial anomalies and/or Renal anomalies. The etiology is not known but is suspected to be multifactorial, involving genetic and environmental factors.

We retrospectively reviewed a large database of 109 published reports of LUMBAR syndrome to study potential associated clinical risk factors, the first such effort.

LUMBAR is significantly more common in full-term, normal birth weight, singleton girls. We found no statistically significant differences in disease severity between affected girls and boys. There were no reports in twins or other multiple births, no reports of familial recurrence, and no repeated maternal illnesses, exposures, or other prenatal risk factors.

Prospective studies in LUMBAR syndrome are needed to further evaluate maternal risk factors for prenatal hypoxia, gene-environment interactions, and genetic susceptibility variants.