Good Clinical Responders to Topical Timolol in Patients with Infantile Hemangiomas: A 7-Year Retrospective Study of 328 Korean Patients
- Author:
Da-Ae YU
1
;
Se Hee MIN
;
Jaeryong SONG
;
Jong Seo PARK
;
Hanjae LEE
;
Jungyoon OHN
;
Kyu Han KIM
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- From:Annals of Dermatology 2022;34(5):360-369
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Background:Topical timolol is widely used for treatment of superficial infantile hemangioma (IH). However, little is known about factors that affect the response to topical timolol treatment.
Objective:This study aimed to investigate the efficacy, safety, and predictive value for good response to topical timolol for IH.
Methods:A retrospective review of medical records and clinical photos of 328 patients with IH treated with topical timolol 0.5% solution was conducted. Serial clinical photographs were compared with those at the initial visit using a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS). Treatment response was defined as an improvement of at least 75% from baseline in IH lesions within 12 months of treatment.
Results:Overall, IH patients treated with topical timolol showed significant improvement from baseline, showing that the final VAS score within 12 months of treatment was 69.7±20.4. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed age at initiation of treatment (p=0.007), length of gestation and fetal growth (p=0.03), depth (p=0.01), and flexural area (p=0.007) were significantly associated with treatment response. Only four patients (1.1%) reported local irritation.
Conclusion:This study demonstrated that topical timolol treatment was an effective and well-tolerated treatment for IHs. Physicians are encouraged to consider several patient- or lesional factors that might affect treatment response to achieve better clinical outcomes.
