SIGNIFICANCE OF DETERMINING URINARY BASIC FIBROBLAST GROWTH FACTOR IN THE DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND FOLLOW-UP CHILDREN WITH INFANTILE HEMANGIOMAS

Abstract

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the significance of determination of urinary basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) at different stages of growth of infantile hemangiomas (IH) in children. Materials and methods: A case-control study was conducted. For the purposes of the researched target group, samples of fifty (N = 50) children with IH were used. The control group consisted of one hundred (N=100) healthy children of comparable age and gender without IH and vascular malformations. The control group was divided into phase 1, corresponding to the proliferation of the examined group, and phase 2, corresponding to the involution of the examined group. An immunoassay (ELISA) was used to determine urinary bFGF values.
Results: Comparison of bFGF values in the phases of proliferation and involution in the group of IH did not show a statistically significant difference (p=0.893). In the control group during the 1st phase significantly more subjects had urinary bFGF values ​​≥0.31 compared to the 2nd phase (P=0.003). In proliferation phase of IH, i.e. in phase 1 of the control, significantly more subjects in the control group had urinary bFGF values ​​≥0.31 (the lowest value that was detectable on the device): 24.0% vs. 4.0% ; P=0.008. The urinary bFGF level in the involution phase IH compared to the examined and control group did not show statistically significant difference (P = 0.617). Conclusion: This study did not show the significance of the urinary bFGF determination in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up children with IH.