Nadolol for the treatment of infantile hemangioma.

Purpose: The successful use of nadolol as an alternative to propranolol therapy in three cases of infantile hemangioma is reported.
Summary: Infantile hemangioma is a benign vascular neoplastic disorder that affects up to 10% of newborns and can lead to deformity or local complications in severe cases. Propranolol, administered alone or in combination with corticosteroids, is increasingly used to treat infantile hemangioma, but its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and potentially cause central nervous system adverse effects has prompted research on alternative β-blocker therapies for the disorder that have more favorable safety profiles, including nadolol. This article describes the use of nadolol to treat three pediatric patients with a buccal or genital hemangioma who developed adverse reactions (mainly, irritability and sleep disturbances) or resistance to initial treatment with propranolol. The patients were 10 months, 12 months, and 4 years of age, respectively, when hemangioma treatment was initiated. The results of nadolol therapy were favorable, with involution of lesions and gradual disappearance of propranolol-associated adverse effects occurring in all three cases. As with any use of β-blocker therapy in a pediatric patient, a cardiac workup is advised before the start of nadolol therapy; blood pressure and heart rate monitoring should be performed at one and two hours after the first dose and continued during dose escalation.
Conclusion: Nadolol was an effective alternative to propranolol in three pediatric patients with hemangiomas.
(Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.)