The effect of early systemic propranolol treatment on color improvement of infantile hemangiomas. A retrospective cohort study.

Abstract

Introduction. Infantile hemangioma (IH) is a benign vascular tumor that primarily affects infants. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the overall efficacy of propranolol treatment and compare the outcomes of early and late treatment initiation in infants under one year of age.
Methods. Data was collected from patients treated at Ryhov Hospital, Sweden, between 2018 and 2021. Treatment effect was evaluated based on clinical criteria and overall lesion appearance using images.
Results. The mean age of the patients at the time of drug initiation was 141.9 days (SD±111.9). On average, propranolol treatment resulted in an 85% improvement (SD±28.8) in the overall appearance of IH. Early initiation of treatment (under 3 months of age) was associated with a 92.3% (SD±25.0) higher likelihood of an excellent response compared to late initiation of treatment (79.4%, SD±30.9, p=0.09). In terms of color improvement, early treatment showed a significant response in 67.3% (SD±22.5) of cases compared to 47.9% (SD±30.6) in the late treatment group (p<0.01).
Conclusion. The study results suggest that early initiation of propranolol treatment in infants under three months of age is significantly associated with better color improvement of IH.