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. 2018 Jan-Feb;63(1):62-65.
doi: 10.4103/ijd.IJD_327_17.

Adverse Reactions Due to the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Vaccine: Twenty Tunisian Cases

Khadija Sellami  1 , Meriem Amouri  1 , Sana Kmiha  2 , Emna Bahloul  1 , Hajer Aloulou  2 , Lamia Sfaihi  2 , R Guirat  2 , Madiha Mseddi  1 , T Kamoun  2 , Mongia Hachicha  2 , Hamida Turki  1
Affiliations

Adverse Reactions Due to the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Vaccine: Twenty Tunisian Cases

Khadija Sellami et al. Indian J Dermatol. 2018 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Adverse reactions; bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine; tuberculosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest. What is new? We report an uncommon site of BCG adverse reactions involving the thigh. This may be due to an injection error. It is the first Tunisian series which exclusively reports adverse reactions due to the BCG vaccine.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Local adverse reaction: Fistulised suppurative left axillary lymphadenitis
Figure 2
Figure 2
Local adverse reaction: Swelling of the left pectoral region
Figure 3
Figure 3
Local adverse reaction: Swelling of the left thigh on the injection site
Figure 4
Figure 4
Maculopapular rash in a child with disseminated bacillus Calmette–Guerin disease
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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