Oral propranolol for the treatment of infantile haemangiomas in Singapore

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION@#Infantile haemangiomas (IH) are the most common vascular tumours in childhood. Over the past decade, treatment of IH has been revolutionised by the discovery of the effectiveness of beta-blockers in its treatment. We review our hospital's experience with oral propranolol in the treatment of IH in an Asian population.@*METHODS@#We performed a retrospective review of the medical records and clinical photos of paediatric patients with IH treated with propranolol in a tertiary paediatric hospital in Singapore from January 2010 to February 2015.@*RESULTS@#A total of 88 patients with IH treated with propranolol were identified over a five-year period, with 79 patients included in the final analysis. There was a predominance of female patients (75.9%) and preterm infants (41.8%) in our study population. The head and neck (65.8%), especially the orbital or preorbital region (45.6%), were the most common lesion sites in our cohort of patients. Mean age of onset was 2.3 ± 4.5 weeks of age, and mean age of starting propranolol treatment was 7.7 ± 10.5 weeks of age. 44.3% of patients experienced > 75% improvement, while 29.1% experienced improvement of 50%-75%. Response to treatment was influenced by the age of starting treatment.@*CONCLUSION@#Our study provides further evidence of the efficacy and safety of propranolol in the treatment of IH in an Asian population. Early treatment is recommended for optimal results.