Cardiac arrest in a toddler treated with propranolol for infantile Hemangioma: a case report

Abstract Background Propranolol has become the first-line treatment for complicated Infantile Hemangioma (IH), showing so far a good risk-benefit profile. Case presentation We report the case of a toddler, on propranolol, who suffered cardiac arrest during an acute viral infection. She had a neurally-mediated syncope that progressed to asystole, probably because of concurrent factors as dehydration, beta-blocking and probably individual susceptibility to vaso-vagal phenomena. In fact a significant history of breath-holding spells was consistent with vagal hyperactivity. Conclusions The number of patients treated with propranolol for IHs will increase and sharing experience will help to better define the safety profile of this drug