Korean J Dermatol.  2021 Mar;59(3):196-205.

Effectiveness and Safety of Two Different Formulations of Oral Propranolol Treatment for 375 Cases of Infantile Hemangioma: A Korean Single-center Experience

• Lee HJ
• Ha G
• Chung HY
• Lee JM
• Lee SY
• Huh S
• Kim JY
• Lee SJ

Abstract

Background
Oral propranolol has recently been introduced as a successful treatment for infantile hemangioma (IH). Though, there are limited reports on this treatment including large number of Korean patients with IH covering a long-term powder and solution formulation period.
Objective
We investigated the effectiveness and side effects of two different formulations of oral propranolol treatment in patients with IH at a Korean tertiary university hospital.
Methods
From June 2011 to October 2019, 375 patients were treated with powder- or solution-type oral propranolol starting at 1 mg/kg/day and increasing up to 3 mg/kg/day. Drug effectiveness was evaluated on four scales through sequential photographs by two dermatologists. Side effects were recorded on a medical chart.
Results
Overall, the mean improvement scale was 2.61±0.73 at 3 months after treatment initiation. The scale was higher for solution-type than for powder-type oral propranolol at the 3-month follow-up (2.71±0.79 vs. 2.54±0.67, p＜0.05). The patients’ mean duration of treatment was 8.56±5.85 months, which was shorter for solution-type than for powder-type oral propranolol (6.0 vs. 10.69 months, p＜0.05). Among the total number of patients, 22 reported mild side effects, including loose stools and noticeable sleep disturbance, and few serious side effects such as grunting, while two patients required medical intervention.
Conclusion
The patients in our study were effectively treated for IH with oral propranolol without significant side effects and had a shorter treatment duration with solution-type oral propranolol than with powder-type oral propranolol.

Keyword

Formulation; Infantile hemangioma; Propranolol