1. Home>
2. Specialties>
3. General Medicine>
4. Summary and Comment

HALF-DOSE DPT VACCINE CONTRAINDICATED FOR PREMATURE INFANTS.

In spite of current recommendations to administer full-dose diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DPT) vaccine to premature infants, many practitioners give half-dose DPT instead, believing that it will cause fewer vaccine-related side effects. This study compared antibody responses and side effects in 20 preterm infants immunized with half-dose DPT vaccine and 25 preterm infants immunized with full-dose vaccine.

All but one of the infants given full-dose DPT (96 percent) had a protective antibody response to pertussis after the second dose of the vaccine, whereas only 55 percent of the infants given half-dose DPT had serologic protection against pertussis even after the third dose of the vaccine. Seroconversion rates for tetanus and diphtheria were high and similar in the two groups. The incidence of vaccine-related side effects was comparable, with the exception of higher fevers in the full-dose group after the third dose.

Thus, not only is there no major advantage to immunizing premature infants with half-dose DPT, the reduced protection against pertussis also places at risk those infants who most need protection against the disease.

— RAD

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine April 14, 1989

Citation(s):

Bernbaum J et al. Half-dose immunization for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis: response of preterm infants. Pediatrics 1989 Apr 83 471-476.

• Medline abstract (Free)