Percutaneous sclerotherapy with bleomycin effective, tolerable

(HealthDay)—Percutaneous bleomycin injections are effective and tolerable for the treatment of vascular malformations, according to a study published online Sept. 4 in the International Journal of Dermatology.

Hyun-Joo Lee, M.D., from the Pusan National University in Busan, South Korea, and colleagues evaluated the therapeutic efficacy and safety of percutaneous sclerotherapy using bleomycin for the treatment of vascular malformations in 30 patients. A mean of 3.2 treatment sessions were conducted over an average of three months.

The researchers found that significant improvement was observed in 90.0 percent of all lesions. There was significant improvement in all lesions of capillary malformation with nodular change and lymphatic malformation, as well as in 82.4 percent of lesions of venous malformation. Side effects, including pain and headache (rated as tolerable), occurred within 24 hours in seven patients (23.3 percent).

"Percutaneous sclerotherapy using bleomycin is effective and tolerable in the treatment of vascular malformation through a percutaneous approach," the authors write. "Therefore, it could be applied usefully for vascular malformations by dermatologists."

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