Most Vaccine-Allergic Children Still Can Be Safely Vaccinated

To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Most Vaccine-Allergic Children Still Can Be Safely Vaccinated
URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/22A76E.htm
Doctor's Guide
September 2, 2008

BALTIMORE, Md -- September 2, 2008 -- With close monitoring and a few standard precautions, nearly all children with known or suspected vaccine allergies can be safely immunised, according to a study in the September issue of Pediatrics.

The authors offer paediatricians a step-by-step tool for quickly identifying children with allergic reactions to vaccines and a much-needed guide, they say, to immunise safely those who are allergic.

"We cannot reiterate enough that the vaccines used today are extremely safe, but in a handful of children certain vaccine ingredients can trigger serious allergic reactions," says lead author Robert Wood, MD, Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland. "For the most part, even children with known allergies can be safely vaccinated."

Given recent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable infections such as measles, mumps, and whooping cough in the United States, and measles and polio overseas, it is essential to safely vaccinate as many children as possible, investigators say.

The researchers advise a workup by an allergist, including skin-prick testing or blood tests, which would detect the presence of characteristic antibodies that patients develop to allergens.

In many cases, allergic children can be vaccinated using alternative forms of a vaccine that are free of the allergen. Even if allergen-free formulations are unavailable, many children can still be vaccinated and remain under physician supervision for several hours after vaccination.

Another option is testing the child to check for immunity. If blood tests show the child has already developed protective antibodies, it may be acceptable, at least temporarily, to withhold further doses of the vaccine, the authors note.

"Vaccines save lives, and parents should know that children who have had allergic reactions after a vaccine are likely to have developed protection against infection as a result of the vaccination," says investigator Neal Halsey, MD, Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.

"Most children who have had an allergic reaction after a vaccine can still be vaccinated against other diseases safely, and some can receive additional doses of vaccines they might have reacted to," Dr. Halsey adds.

Many children with known vaccine allergies who have low levels of protective antibodies and require more doses can be vaccinated safely under the guidelines.

In some cases, children with known allergies can receive anti-allergy medications before vaccination to help ward off or lessen the allergic reaction.

For a step-by-step guide to vaccine administration in children with known or suspected vaccine allergy, see the full text of the article at

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/122/3/e771

SOURCE: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

http://www.docguide.com

Return to News Story Page

webmaster@pslgroup.com