Adverse Reactions Due to the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Vaccine: Twenty Tunisian Cases
Khadija Sellami1, Meriem Amouri1, Sana Kmiha2
1Department of Dermatology, Hedi Chaker Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia.
Background:
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is a widely used vaccine. Management of local BCG complications differs between clinicians, and the optimal approach remains unclear.
Aims:
We aim to describe the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects of the BCG vaccine side effects in Sfax.
Patients And Methods:
This was a retrospective study of all the cases of BCG vaccine adverse reactions recorded in the Dermatology and Paediatrics Departments of Hedi Chaker University Hospital of Sfax over a period of 10 years (2005-2015).
Results:
Twenty cases of BCG adverse reactions were notified during the study period. Actually, 80% of the patients presented local adverse reactions. The outcome was good in all the followed patients. The rate of disseminated BCG disease was 20%. Biological tests of immunity showed a primary immunodeficiency in three cases, whereas the outcome was fatal in two cases.
Conclusion:
BCG vaccine adverse reactions range from mild to severe. However, the management of benign local reactions remains unclear. Disseminated BCG disease must alert clinicians to the possibility of a primary immunodeficiency.
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