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Colorimetric analysis of images in the follow‐up of infantile hemangiomas
Author(s) -
Abagge Kerstin Taniguchi,
Sandri Camila de Oliveira,
Sakai Luan Seiji Minuk,
Mussato Lucas Pereira,
Petterle Ricardo Rasmussen,
Oliveira de Carvalho Vânia Oliveira
Publication year - 2020
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.14153
Subject(s) - medicine , grading scale , hemangioma , infantile hemangioma , dermatology , adobe photoshop , nuclear medicine , radiology , surgery , software , computer science , programming language
Background/Objectives Infantile hemangiomas (IH) are common vascular tumors that appear early in life, have a rapid proliferative phase and slowly involute. There are no standardized ways to evaluate the regression of these lesions. We propose a colorimetric analysis of photographs to allow a more precise determination of IH treatment response and involution. Methods Patients 1‐10 months of age with superficial or mixed IH were included. The lesions were managed with 0.5% topical timolol ophthalmic solution. Patients were followed for 16 weeks with 6 evaluations each. Photographic images were taken with a red and green circle placed beside each hemangioma. The photographs were treated as to equalize the size, color, and brightness among them based on the colors of the two circles. A grading scale was established based on the color of the patient skin (0) and the color of the hemangioma at the beginning of treatment (100) by pixel analysis using Adobe Photoshop® software. Results A total of 17 patients 1 to 10 months of age were included, of whom 16 were girls (94%). Fourteen lesions were superficial, and 3 were mixed IH. The median time prior to initiation of treatment was 105 days (44‐232). All lesions showed some degree of clearing. The mean of lightening of color intensity observed was of 45% (17%‐74%) over the period of follow‐up. Conclusions The colorimetric analysis of the digital images allowed an accurate and objective evaluation of IH clearing.