TOPICAL PROPRANOLOL THERAPY FOR INFANTILE HEMANGIOMA: A RETROSPECTIVE MULTI-INSTITUTION STUDY IN THE EASTERN REGION OF LIBYA

There has been a paradigm shift from steroids to propranolol for the pharmacologic treatment of infantile hemangiomas (IHs); however, the outcomes for such treatment were not well studied. In addition, there is no previous published data about the treatment of IHs in Libya. The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of topical propranolol versus intralesional steroid therapy for IH children in Libya. A retrospective review was conducted on patients with IH treated with either topical propranolol or intralesional triamcinolone with dexamethasone therapy, during the period 2014 - 2018. Hemangioma characteristics including the time to heal and percentage of lesion size reduction, were compared as per before and after each type of treatment. Most of the IH cases were females with an age range of 1-6 months. Mean percent reductions in lesion size following both topical propranolol and intralesional triamcinolone with dexamethasone therapy were 53% and 50% respectively. Taking into consideration the prominent side effects of using steroids, then, propranolol could replace systemic corticosteroids as first-line therapy for IH.