This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages without signing in

Complications

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Pain, swelling or redness at the injection site is common and may occur more frequently following subsequent doses

  • a small painless nodule may form at the injection site; this usually disappears and is of no consequence
  • incidence of local reactions is lower with vaccines combined with acellular pertussis than with whole-cell pertussis, and is similar to that after DT vaccine

Fever, convulsions, high-pitched screaming and episodes of pallor, cyanosis and limpness (hypotonic - hyporesponsive episodes (HHE)) occur with equal frequency after both DTaP and DT vaccines.

Confirmed anaphylaxis occurs extremely rarely

  • data from the UK, Canada and the US point to rates of 0.65 to 3 anaphylaxis events per million doses
  • other allergic conditions may occur more commonly and are not contraindications to further immunisation (1)

In the past, there was public and professional anxiety that whole-cell pertussis vaccine contributed to the onset of neurological problems in young children but whole-cell pertussis vaccine has not been used in the UK since 2004

Reference:

  • The Green Book - Chapter 15 - Pertussis (April 2019)

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.