Propranolol Versus Prednisolone for Treatment of Symptomatic Hemangiomas
Status:
Terminated
Trial end date:
2014-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Hemangiomas are relatively common lesions in infants. Most go away spontaneously after one
year of life and do not need treatment. Others require treatment because they cause
significant symptoms such as pain, or difficulty with breathing, eating or ambulating.
Steroids have classically been used to treat hemangiomas and help to shrink them in 1/3 - 2/3
of patients. Unfortunately, steroids have many side effects in babies so physicians have
sought other ways to treat them. Recently, the use of propranolol, a heart medication, was
serendipitously found to reduce the size of hemangiomas. It appears to have many fewer side
effects than steroids but it is not yet known if it works as well as steroids. This study
seeks to compare the effect and the side effects of propranolol versus steroids for treating
hemangiomas that cause symptoms in infants.