A 24-Week Treatment of Pediatric Hemangioma with Oral Propranolol

Hemangioma is a benign vascular tumor that shouldbe treated in problematic situations. Propranolol efficacy, target dose, range of age, duration of treatment and complications arenot conclusive for treatment of pediatric hemangioma. Our goal was to study efficacy and safety of propranolol for hemangioma treating in children. A randomized, open label crossover trial with two twenty four-week treatment phases separated by a one-week washout period, was conducted in Amir-Kabir Hospital, Arak, Iran. Thirty two patients with age of 1 month to 15 years were randomized to receive either oral propranolol 2 mg/Kg/day or receivedno treatment. The primary outcome measure changed in hemangioma size assessed at baseline, day 3, day 7, and every month. At baseline, the mean surface area was 36.9 ± 36.3 cm2. After 1 week of treatment, a decrease was seen in size of hemangiomas. After one month, a significant reduction was seen in size of lesionsin treatment group compared to observation group (30 cm2vs 16 cm2, P < 0.01). Significant reductions were present at other intervals (P < 0.05). In the second phase of the study, a significant reduction was observed only after one month of treatment (P < 0.05). The trial suggested that 24 week treatment with oral propranolol was effective for treatment of pediatric hemangiomas with acceptable safety profile.