[Steroid therapy of hemangioma in children]

Hemangiomata is the more frequent pediatric tumor, absent at birth and usually growing, sometimes very quickly, during the first week of life. It potentially represents a serious problem because of his unforeseeable evolution during the time: is it more useful to use a corticosteroid therapy or to wait for the involution of the tumor? Here we have the results of the treatment on 51 babies who presented with hemangiomas of various sites: 52.6% of the lesions were on the face and head, 13.4% on chest wall, 10% on upper limbs, 4% on abdominal wall, 10% on pelvis region and 10% multiple. Therapy was compression in 10% of patients, corticosteroid injection in 66%, oral administered corticosteroid in 12%, surgery post corticosteroid therapy in 11.5%, others in 2.5%. Best results were obtained on the lesion of the head and face (good in 96%), worst in those of the abdomen (any modification in 100%).