Atenolol Versus Propranolol for Treatment of Infantile Hemangiomas During the Proliferative Phase: A Retrospective Noninferiority Study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The nonselective beta-blocker propranolol is the current criterion standard for treatment of infantile hemangiomas (IHs) and the first therapy that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved for the condition, but concern about adverse effects, such as bronchospasm, hypoglycemia, and sleep disturbances, has sparked interest in the use of alternative agents such as the selective ß1 antagonist atenolol. Our aim was to compare the efficacy and adverse effect profiles of atenolol with those of propranolol in the treatment of IHs in a retrospective noninferiority trial. METHODS: Twenty-seven children with IHs treated with atenolol according to the Cleveland Clinic foundation's standardized clinical assessment and management plan (SCAMP) met inclusion criteria and were compared with a matched group of 53 children with IHs treated with propranolol. Three reviewers assessed response to therapy using a modified version of the previously validated Hemangioma Activity Score (HAS). RESULTS: The mean change in HAS was -2.94 ± 1.20 for patients treated with atenolol and -2.96 ± 1.42 for those treated with propranolol. There was no statistically significant difference in pre- and posttreatment modified HAS scores between the two groups (p = 0.60). There was no significant difference in the overall rate of adverse effects (p = 0.10), although 11% of patients treated with propranolol experienced reactive airway symptoms, whereas this was not seen in any of the patients treated with atenolol. CONCLUSION: Our study supports previous findings that atenolol is at least as effective as propranolol for treatment of IHs and poses less risk of bronchospasm. Our SCAMP proposes guidelines for dosing and monitoring parameters.

Pentalogy of cantrell: surgical resection of a biventricular diverticulum.

Pentalogy of Cantrell is a rare diagnosis consisting of several midline defects of the sternum, abdominal wall, diaphragm, pericardium, and heart. One of the known features is ventricular diverticulum that can represent a technical challenge surgically. This is a follow-up case report of the successful simultaneous resection of a biventricular diverticulum and omphalocele repair after previous report of repair of complex intracardiac disease in the same patient.

Coarctation of the aorta: stenting in children and adults.

Coarctation of the aorta may present in infants, children, or adults, and it requires treatment to prevent serious morbidity and mortality. Recent advances in equipment and a growing collective experience have made placement of balloon-expandable stents a safe and effective alternative to surgery or angioplasty in a growing range of patients. This review seeks to provide a working aid for stenting of coarctation of the aorta, based on the techniques and technical considerations in practice at our institution. Between 1989 and 2005, the Congenital Cardiovascular Interventional Study Consortium (CCISC), a consortium of 17 centers, of which our institution is the largest contributor, performed 588 stent placements for coarctation of the aorta. Of the 588 procedures, 580 (98.6%) were successful, as defined by reduction of the gradient to less than 20 mm Hg or increase of the ratio of the diameter of the coarctation area (CoA) to the diameter of the descending aorta (DAo) to at least 0.8. There were a total of 84 complications occurring in 69/588 (11.7%) cases. The most common significant complications were femoral access vessel related 15/588 (2.6%), aneurysm formation 13/588 (2.2%), aortic dissection 9/588 (1.5%), and cerebrovascular accident 6/588 (1.0%). There were two procedure-related deaths (0.3%) recorded in the 16-year period. Many of these significant complications occurred in the same patients. Balloon-expandable stents should be considered a safe and very effective treatment modality in a significant subset of patients with coarctation of the aorta.