Psychological comorbidities and compliance to interventional treatment of patients with cutaneous vascular malformations

Purpose The aim of this study was to assess qualitatively the psychological stressors affecting patients with cutaneous vascular malformations and hemangiomas (CVM-H) and their impact on compliance to interventional treatment. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted of all patients with CVM-H treated by interventional neuroradiology at a single academic institution during a five-year period (2009–2014). Psychological complaints were documented during each clinic visit by a neuroradiologist. Compliance to interventional treatment was defined by adherence to the scheduled treatment sessions. Fisher’s exact test was used to assess for associations between psychological complaints and compliance. Results Seventy-five patients were assessed, of whom 49 (65.3%) were female, with an age range of 2–78 years (mean age 30.2 years). All except one patient older than seven years of age (n = 71; 94.6%) had a psychological complaint, including fear of negative appearance (n = 53; 70.6%), dissatisfaction with appearance (n = 46; 61.3%), low self-esteem (n = 35; 46.6%), anxiety (n = 16; 21.3%), stress (n = 13; 17.3%), bullying (n = 5; 6.6%), and low mood (n = 4; 5.3%). Twenty-three (31%) patients were non-compliant. Low self-esteem was significantly associated with non-compliance (p = 0.0381). Conclusion There is a high prevalence of psychological comorbidities among patients treated for CVM-H. This has potential implications for interventional treatment, as it was found that low self-esteem is significantly associated with non-compliance. These results suggest the need for early psychological support in these patients in order to maximize compliance to interventional treatment.