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No difference seen in infantile hemangioma patients at 4 years treated with propranolol
There were no significant differences in outcome or growth at age 4 years for patients with infantile hemangioma treated with propranolol compared with patients in a control group, according to recent study results.
“In this matched case-control study, we found no differences in developmental outcome or growth in patients with [infantile hemangioma] treated with propranolol at the age of 4 years compared with their twin siblings or matched control subjects,” Andre Vadimovich Moyakine, MD, from the department of dermatology at Hecovan Expertise Center for Hemangioma and Vascular Malformations in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and colleagues wrote. “Sleep and mood disturbances were frequently reported by parents, but were not associated with impaired developmental outcome.”
Moyakine and colleagues evaluated 83 patients between the ages of 43 months and 51 months with infantile hemangioma who had received propranolol for at least 6 months. Patients were included if they did not have any other developmental risk factors, and were matched with an 82-patient control group (four matched twins, 78 community children). The researchers compared patients with abnormal Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) results. They used χ2 analyses for abnormal results and Mann-Whitney U tests to compare mean scores and growth for ASQ tests.
They found six cases (7.3%) in the propranolol group with abnormal ASQ results compared with 10 cases (12.2%) in the control group (P = .292). The height and weight of cases in the propranolol and control groups were comparable. Moyakine and colleagues noted the mean total ASQ scores (25th - 75th percentile) were 52.9 (range, 50.8-57) for the propranolol group and 51.9 (49-56) in the control group. – by Jeff Craven
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.