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Systemic propranolol may be effective for treatment of infantile hemangioma
Ophthal Plast Reconstr Surg. 2011;27(3):190-194.
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A systemic oral propranolol treatment used in infantile hemangioma cases of the eyelid and orbits could be effective in reducing and even eliminating the lesion, a study said.
A retrospective observational case series of five infants with orbital infantile hemangioma was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the oral dosing of propranolol. Four of the five patients were girls. One patient had received oral corticosteroid treatments before the start of the propranolol therapy; another patient received intralesional steroid injections during the propranolol therapy to reduce astigmatism.
The average age of the patients was 3.1 months, and the average treatment duration was 7.1 months. All patients received a cardiac evaluation and a pretreatment electrocardiogram. The propranolol dosage started at 1 mg/kg per day in two to three divided doses and then was increased to 2 mg/kg per day after 5 to 7 days.
The lesions were tracked using descriptions, photographs and CT scans. All but one patient had a significant reduction in the size of the lesion, and no patients experienced significant side effects in contrast to corticosteroid treatment.
"While our results support the premise that systemic propranolol may be an effective treatment of [infantile hemangioma] of the eyelids and orbits, a larger multicenter randomized clinical control trial is needed to confirm the safety profile and efficacy of propranolol for use in the treatment of infantile capillary hemangiomas," the study authors said.