Safety and Efficacy of Imiquimod in the Treatment of Infantile Hemangioma; a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Effect of imiquimod in infantile hemangioma

Abstract

Objective: To study the safety and efficacy of imiquimod in the treatment of infantile hemangioma (IH).

Method: Systematic search was conducted in nine electronic databases for selecting relevant articles reporting the safety and efficacy of imiquimod as a therapeutic agent for treatment of IH. Meta-analysis was used to pool the results.

Results: Of total 180 records screened, we included 9 studies for this systematic review and meta-analysis. About one-fifth of the patients (20.9%) have showed clinical resolution with 95% confidence interval (CI) of 11.8% to 34.1%. Regarding IH type, superficial type showed the highest rates of both clinical resolution and excellent response rates with 31.2% (95% CI= 16.6% to 50.8%) and 26.5% (95% CI= 11.6% to 49.6%), respectively. A relatively high prevalence of any side effects with 63.1% (95% CI= 47.6% to 76.3%) has been reported. The highest reported side effect was crustation (44.1%; 95% CI= 27.8% to 61.8%).

Conclusion: Imiquimod is effective in the treatment of superficial IH and it is associated with local side effects.