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Trans-vivo Delayed Type Hypersensitivity Assay for Antigen Specific Regulation
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Trans-vivo Delayed Type Hypersensitivity Assay for Antigen Specific Regulation

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Inadvertent administration of DTP and DT after age six as recorded in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System

R K Zimmerman1, T R Pellitieri

  • 1Department of Family Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA 15261.

Family Practice Research Journal
|December 1, 1994
PubMed

Insights

Individuals aged 7 and older are sometimes mistakenly given pediatric diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) or diphtheria-tetanus (DT) vaccines instead of adult tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccines, potentially causing unnecessary adverse reactions.

Area of Science:

  • Immunization practices
  • Vaccine safety surveillance
  • Pediatric vs. adult vaccination

Background:

  • Pediatric diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and whole-cell pertussis vaccine (DTP) and pediatric diphtheria and tetanus toxoids (DT) are not recommended for individuals aged 7 years or older.
  • This is due to a higher risk of adverse reactions and the low fatality rate of pertussis in this age group.

Observation:

  • Analysis of Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) data from July 1990 to March 1992 was conducted.
  • Vaccine manufacturers were contacted to verify vaccine lot numbers and types.

Findings:

  • Among individuals aged 7 and older in the VAERS database, 26 received DTP and 77 received DT.
  • Verification revealed that out of 77 DT doses, only 8 were confirmed DT; 56 were actually adult tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccines, indicating significant reporting inaccuracies.

Implications:

  • Individuals aged 7 years and older may be inadvertently receiving inappropriate vaccine formulations (DTP or DT), leading to unnecessary adverse events.
  • The VAERS database, while useful for hypothesis generation, requires careful interpretation due to reporting errors and duplicate entries.
Abstract

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