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Basophil Activation Test for Allergy Diagnosis
Published on: May 31, 2021
Allergic reactions during childhood vaccination and management
Elif Soyak Aytekin1, Bülent E Şekerel1, Ümit M Şahiner1
1Department of Pediatric Allergy, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Insights
Pediatric vaccine allergies are rare, with severe reactions being uncommon. Understanding vaccine components aids in diagnosing and managing allergic reactions, ensuring vaccination safety.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Vaccination is a critical public health strategy for infectious disease prevention.
- Concerns regarding vaccine adverse effects can complicate clinical practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review hypersensitivity reactions to childhood vaccines.
- To provide insights into the diagnosis and management of vaccine allergy.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of PubMed database up to March 2021.
- Inclusion of articles on pediatric vaccines, allergy, hypersensitivity, and adverse reactions.
Main Results:
- Confirmed vaccine-related allergic reactions in children are rare (0.65-1.45 per million doses).
- Reactions can stem from vaccine antigens or excipients; diagnosis relies on history, clinical signs, and tests.
- Most allergic reactions are mild and self-limiting, though severe anaphylaxis is possible.
Conclusions:
- Childhood vaccine allergies are infrequent, with minimal risk compared to vaccination benefits.
- Identifying allergens is crucial for preventing future reactions and selecting alternative vaccines.
- Diagnosis involves clinical assessment and potentially in vivo/in vitro testing.
Background:
Vaccination is one of the most effective public health tools to prevent a variety of infectious diseases. However, concerns about vaccine related adverse effects cause difficulties in clinical practice.
Methods:
This review was prepared based on the latest literature available in the PUBMED database in English language (as of March 2021), and all articles with the keywords pediatric vaccine, allergy, hypersensitivity, adverse reaction were evaluated to prepare the article.
Results:
Vaccine related confirmed allergic reactions are rare in children, ranging between 0,65-1.45 cases per million vaccine doses. Most of the allergic reactions are self-limited local reactions although in some cases severe anaphylaxis with multisystem involvement can be observed. Allergic reactions may occur because of either the active component (the antigen) of the vaccine, or additional components, such as preservatives, adjuvants, antimicrobials, stabilizers and other substances. Finding the culprit allergen is necessary to prevent future exposure to the allergen and to use alternative vaccines if possible. Diagnosis is largely based on a detailed history and clinical manifestation; also in vivo and in vitro tests may be helpful.
Conclusions:
In this review we provide information about hypersensitivity reactions to allergen components of childhood vaccines along with the diagnosis and management of vaccine allergy. Besides the tremendous benefits of vaccination for the health of children, we emphasized that the risk of adverse effects is rare and poses a negligible threat.
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