Propranolol in the Treatment of Infantile Hemangioma

Infantile Hemangiomas (IH) are common vascular tumors in children. Only 10-15% should be treated by any vital, functional or aesthetic complications. Oral corticosteroids are the treatment of choice. However, in the last two years an excellent response to treatment of hemangiomas with oral Propranolol has been reported. Objective: evaluate this new therapy in a limited number of chilean patients with IH with an indication of systemic treatment and present this experience. Patients and Methods: We present 30 cases of IH treated at our institution with oral Propranolol, using a dose of 2 mg/kg/day divided in 2 daily doses. Results: 77% of patients were female, 40% hemangiomas had segmental distribution, 90% were solitary, 67% were located in the head and neck and 23% were ulcerated. The treatment started at an average of 119 days of life and lasted for an average of 7 months. In all our patients the use of Propranolol accelerated the onset of involution of the hemangiomas and decreased color, brightness and growth too. 43% of the patients had irritability and sleep disorders. No significant adverse effects were reported in any of our patients. Conclusion: Propranolol treatment was highly effective and safe in our series of patients and we propose, taking into account published reports based on this data, it should become the treatment of choice for IH.