Propranolol for infantile haemangioma: A Review of Current Dosing Regime in a Regional Paediatric Hospital

Cutaneous infantile haemangiomas affect approximately 1 in 10 children. They tend to follow a natural course of rapid proliferation during the first year of life and subsequently regress over 5-10 years. Most haemangiomas are non-problematic, but a few become problematic, through ocular, airway or functional impairment, or ulceration. Oral propranolol therapy has been observed to inhibit the proliferation and incite regression of these lesions during their proliferative phase. At present there are no nationally agreed guidelines on propranolol use in paediatric patients with infantile haemangioma, our unit follows a similar pre screening and dose initiation regimen to that of other paediatric hospitals such as Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.