Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the long-term effects of systemic glucocorticoid therapy on bone mineral status in children previously treated for complicated infantile hemangiomas.
Methods: Bone density was evaluated by tibial ultrasound (Omnisense 7000P) and DEXA bone scan (Lunar Prodigy 10667) in children with hemangiomas previously treated with glucocorticoids (off treatment ≥ 1 year) and healthy controls. In addition, Tanner stage, bone age, and body mass index (BMI) were determined for all patients.
Results: The control group consisted of 24 patients with a mean age of 52 months (range 16-104). The treated group consisted of 30 patients with a mean age of 44 months (range 20-75). Mean duration of glucocorticoid treatment was 8.6 months (range 4-15.5) and mean maximum dose of prednisolone was 2.2 mg/kg/day (range 1-4.3). All patients were Tanner stage I and there were no significant differences in bone age or BMI between the treated and control groups. Mean spinal (L2-L4) bone mineral density (BMD) did not differ between the treated group (0.6 g/m2, S.D.=0.07) and the control group (0.58 g/m2, S.D.=0.11) (95% C.I. for mean difference of -0.07 to 0.03). There were also no significant differences between treated and control groups for mean total body BMD or tibial ultrasound z-scores.
Conclusion: Preliminary data analysis reveals no significant differences in bone density between children who received systemic glucocorticoids and children who did not.
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Wright, T., Horii, K., Tee, R. et al. 44 Bone Density in Children with Hemangiomas Treated with Systemic Glucocorticoids.. Pediatr Res 60, 497 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200610000-00066
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200610000-00066