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How is the term haemangioma used in the literature? An evaluation against the revised ISSVA classification
Author(s) -
Steele Lloyd,
Zbeidy Sarah,
Thomson Jason,
Flohr Carsten
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
pediatric dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.542
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1525-1470
pISSN - 0736-8046
DOI - 10.1111/pde.13885
Subject(s) - medicine , term (time) , classification scheme , dermatology , medical physics , intensive care medicine , information retrieval , computer science , physics , quantum mechanics
Background/objectives The International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA) classification separates vascular anomalies into vascular malformations and vascular tumors. However, misdiagnoses and misperceptions still persist around the use of the term “hemangioma.” We assessed whether the term “haemangioma” (British spelling) was used as part of ISSVA terminology in the literature. Methods We searched PubMed for all English‐language publications containing the British spelling “haemangioma” in the title or abstract from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016. Each paper was judged by two independent reviewers, with conflicts resolved by senior review. Results By the standard of the 2014 ISSVA classification, 126/195 (64.6%) publications used incorrect terminology for vascular anomalies. This was reduced to 118/195 (60.5%) when using the 2018 ISSVA classification. The most commonly misused terms were cavernous haemangioma (27.1%), haemangioma without further specification (26.3%), and hepatic/liver haemangioma (12.7%). Age was a significant predictor of accuracy of terminology ( P = 0.01), with a higher accuracy in children. Correct usage also varied by the site of the vascular anomaly, being highest for lesions of the skin (76.5%) followed by muscle (58.3%), soft tissue (23.5%), bone (21.4%), viscera (7.7%), and eye (0.0%) ( P = 0.02). Conclusions The term “haemangioma” is frequently used incorrectly by the standards of the 2014 and 2018 ISSVA classifications. Correct terminology is important as the natural history and treatment options vary depending on the type of vascular anomaly.