[Side effects of cellular and acellular DPT vaccine in children aged from 3 months to 5 years].

INTRODUCTION Both mild and severe local and systemic postvaccination reactions are seen more rarely in infants immunized with DTPa than in those immunized with DTPw vaccine. MATERIAL AND METHODS By analysis of medical records and follow-up of patients, the authors serched for sings of adverse effects of DPT vaccines, comparing cellular and acelhular vaccines in children aged from three months to five years. The results of investigation were analyzed using X2. RESULTS Out of the total number of 940 applied vaccines, 329 were cellular and 611 were acellular. Body temperature over 38.5 degrees C occurred in 3% of children immunized with cellular DTPw, and vomitting occurred in 0.8% of those immunized with acellular DTPa vaccine. Vomiting occurred (more than five times) in 0.9% of children immunized with DPTw and in 0.32% of children immunnized with DPTa. Other undesirable symptoms like swelling, redness and pain in the arm were found in 0.6% of children immunized with DPTw, and in 0.32% of children immunized with DPTa; prolonged crying (three hours or longer) was registered in 0.3% of cases inzmmt- nized with DPTw, and in 0.16% of immunized with DPTa vaccine. Convulsions and collapse appeared only in 0.3% of children immunized with DPTw. DISCUSSION Our investigation shows that local and generalized undesirable postvaccination reactions occurred in 5.4% of children immunized with DPTw and in 1.64 of children immunized with DPTa. The latest clinical investigations show that acellular pertussis vaccines are successful in prevention of pertussis and that they are quite safe for infants: in our investigations, local and generalized reactions were markedly rare in children immunized with DPTa. CONCLUSION Undesirable postvaccinaition reactions after application of acellular DPT vaccines are less frequent than it is described in relevant references. The most frequent postvaccination reactions was raised body temperature (38.5 degrees C). Convulsions and collapses were not registered in children immnunized with DPTa vaccine. This investigation points to significantly rarer unwanted postvcaccinationl reactions of acellular DPT vaccine in comparison with DPTGw (p < 0.01).