Diagnosis and Management of Infantile Hemangioma

Table 3. Characteristics of included studies addressing effectiveness and harms
Characteristic
RCTs
Prospective
Cohort Studies†
Retrospective
Cohort Studies
Diagnostic
Studies
Case
Series*
Total Literature
Intervention Corticosteroid 3 0 1 0 20 24
Beta-Blocker ** 9 5 11 0 56 81
Laser 3 0 6 0 17 26
Surgery 0 1 1 0 13 15
MRI or ultrasound 0 0 0 2 0 2
Population
Characteristics
Outcomes
Reported
Anatomic location of IH
Multiple 15 5 15 1 93 129
Periocular 0 1 1 0 7 9
Airway 0 0 1 0 1 2
Oral/Maxillary 0 0 1 0 3 4
Parotid 0 0 0 0 1 1
Lumbosacral 0 0 0 1 0 1
Nasal 0 0 1 0 1 2
Study population
U.S./Canada 2 1 7 2 29 41
Europe 4 1 9 0 37 51
Asia 4 3 3 0 33 43
Other 5 1 0 0 7 13
Resolution/Clearance-related 15 6 15 0 0 36
Vision 1 2 1 0 0 4
Quality of life 2 0 1 0 0 3
Number treatments/invasive
1 0 6 0 0 7
treatments needed
Diagnostic accuracy 0 0 0 2 0 2
Rebound growth 4 1 6 0 0 11
Harms 15 6 17 0 106 144
Total N participants 1117 243 1447 96 10972 13875
MRI = magnetic resonance imaging; n = number; RCT = randomized, controlled trial
*Case series reported other outcomes; however, we only extracted harms data from case series for this review.
**Studies (n=13) that compared a beta-blocker to another beta-blocker or placebo/observation or to another active comparator such as steroids, other agents, or laser are reported
only in this row.
† One study included in the prospective cohort column compared an IH treated with cryotherapy to an untreated IH.
20