Oral Propranolol Therapy Effective for Infantile Hemangiomas Beyond the Proliferative Phase

Corticosteroid treatment for infantile hemangiomas (IHs) is believed to be effective only during the proliferative phase of hemangioma growth. Over the last few years, the off-label use of propranolol for the treatment of infantile hemangiomas has increased (see JW Dermatol Jun 20 2008). Investigators queried members of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology about their experience starting propranolol therapy in infants older than 1 year. They then retrospectively reviewed these cases, excluding patients if serial photographs were not available.

Thirteen expert pediatric dermatologists blinded to the age of the patients viewed cropped, lesional images of hemangiomas and recorded a score for each on a visual analog scale (VAS). Of the 42 infan…