title: Is Propranolol Safe and Effective for Outpatient Use for Infantile Hemangioma? A Prospective Study of 679 Cases From One Center in China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The protocol for the treatment of infantile hemangioma with propranolol varies among different clinical centers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six hundred seventy-nine patients who were 1 to 12 months old were recruited in this prospective study to receive propranolol treatment. The response to the propranolol therapy was classified as 4 levels. The results were primarily evaluated using color Doppler ultrasound examinations before and after propranolol treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response was excellent in 176 (25.9%), good in 492 (72.5%), stable in 5 (0.7%), and poor in 6 (0.9%) of the patients. The mean age at the initiation of the therapy was 3.3 months (range, 1 to 10.9 months) and the mean duration of the therapy was 7.1 months (range, 3-17 months). The mean duration of the follow-up time after the discontinuation of the therapy was 5.3 months (range, 3-17 months). Regrowth of the hemangioma was observed in 92 cases (13.5%). Seventy-nine (11.6%) of the parents complained of their child's minor discomfort during the therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Propranolol (2 mg/kg per day) may significantly reduce the size of a hemangioma. As an outpatient therapy, propranolol was found to be safe for Chinese children and to have minor side effects.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Xiaoxiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Yajing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Yunbo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Dongze
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Wenxin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Tianyou
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaoxi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D018324:Hemangioma, Capillary / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011433:Propranolol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D011433:Propranolol