Hemangioma activity score evaluation in infantile hemangioma patients: a retrospective study

Introduction: Infantile hemangioma (IH) is a benign vascular tumor commonly found in children. Generally, no special therapy is required because spontaneous resolutions occur. However, in some cases, therapy is required due to the potential of complications. During therapy, the side effects and effectiveness of therapy must be evaluated. One of the assessment tools is the Hemangioma Activity Score (HAS). HAS is a simple and objective assessment to evaluate the successful treatment of IH by observing swelling, color, and ulceration. The use of HAS in Indonesia is still minimal. This study aims to evaluate HAS before and after therapy in IH patients at Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital and Surabaya Skin Centre. Methods: Twenty-seven patient medical records were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. This study is an analytic cross-sectional retrospective using consecutive sampling. The collected data were tested for suitability using Cohen's Kappa. Pre- and post-tests were carried out using the Shapiro-Wilk and Wilcoxon tests afterward. Results: Among 27 IH cases occurred in females (81.4%), with the youngest age of the patient being 1 month and the oldest being 8 years. The onset of lesions in all patients appeared before 1 year of age. The most frequent location for IH lesions was the facial area (51.8%), with a clinical manifestation being plaque (37%). The most common therapy used in this study was pulse dye laser (PDL) (48.1%). Analysis of the difference in HAS before and after therapy showed p value = 0.00, a statistically significant difference in HAS before and after therapy. Conclusions: The hemangioma activity score is an effective measurement tool for measuring the severity of IH and evaluating the effectiveness of therapy.