Is there a Role for Combined Therapy with Oral Corticosteroids and Propranolol in Patients with Infantile Hemangioma? A Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Introduction: Infantile hemangioma (IH) is the most common benign tumor in infancy. Oral corticosteroids (OCs) still have an important role in the treatment of complex IH. In the present study, we provide our experience of oral propranolol + OCs treatment for IH. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of 26 IHs treated with propranolol, either alone or in combination with OCs, at the National Institute of Pediatrics, Mexico. Information on clinical and demographic data was collected. Data were summarized as mean (standard deviation) or median (minimum, maximum) or frequencies and proportions as needed. Comparative analysis between the group only treated with propranolol and the group treated with propranolol plus OCs was performed with Fisher’s exact test or Mann–Whitney U-tests. Results: All of our patients had a positive response to treatment. The comparison between both groups showed that the maximum and mean propranolol doses were significantly lower in the group of patients receiving combined treatment. Conclusions: Our findings support that the use of propranolol plus corticosteroids in IH allows the use of lower doses of both drugs for longer periods with less risk of adverse effects and fewer or no relapses.