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Br J Ophthalmol 1991;75:301-305 doi:10.1136/bjo.75.5.301
  • Research Article

Normalisation of refractive error after steroid injection for adnexal haemangiomas.

  1. A. J. Morrell and
  2. H. E. Willshaw
  1. Ophthalmology Department, Birmingham Children's Hospital.

      Abstract

      A longitudinal study of 27 patients with infantile haemangiomas is reported. It confirmed the efficacy of local steroid injection as a method of treatment; 81.5% of patients showed a marked improvement, with the lesion reducing to 25% or less of its original size. Involution was most marked in the first two weeks but continued for up to four months after injection. Amblyopia was present in 43% of children and was usually the result of induced refractive error rather than obstruction of the visual axis or strabismus. Anisometropia was found in 68% of children, with a high incidence of asymmetric astigmatism on the side of the haemangioma. Following local steroid injection a marked reduction in astigmatism was noted in 53.8% of children, a lesser reduction in 15.4%, and no reduction in 30.8%. Successful treatment of the haemangioma, therefore, may not remove the risk of amblyopia, and regular refraction and visual assessment remain mandatory.

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