Reactions 1236 - 24 Jan 2009

DTP poliovirus vaccine/Hib vaccine/Hib-DTP-poliovirus vaccine

Discoloured leg syndrome in infants: 2 casereports

Two infants developed discoloured leg syndrome afteradministration of DTP poliovirus vaccine and Hib vaccine(patient 1) or Hib-DTP-poliovirus vaccine (patient 2).

Patient 1, a 3-month old male infant, underwent his firstDTP poliovirus [DTP-IPV] and Hib vaccination in boththighs [doses not stated]. He started to cry inconsolably4 hours later. His face was pale and he developed a bluediscoloration of his legs, which spanned from his toes to hispelvic area. He received a paracetamol [acetaminophen]suppository and his crying ceased 30 minutes later. His legcolour normalised. He received his second vaccinationswithout complications. However, a few minutes afterreceiving his third vaccinations, he started crying. Within15 minutes, he had red discolouration of his knees and bluediscolouration of his feet [treatment and outcome notstated].

Patient 2, an 8-week-old female infant, received her firstHib-DTP-poliovirus [DTP-IPV-Hib] vaccine in her left leg[dose not stated]. She woke up screaming after 3.5 hours.Her legs were evenly discoloured a ’fire-engine’ red fromher groin to her toes, and swollen like ‘sausages’. After anhour, she became calmer and fell asleep. Her legs were stillswollen with a patchy red appearance after 4 hours. Therewas a small lump at the injection site and her temperature(rectal) was 37.8°C. The next day, there were unblanchingspots on her legs and a superficial haematoma on one calf[treatment and outcome not stated].Kemmeren JM, et al. Discolored leg syndrome after vaccination-descriptiveepidemiology. European Journal of Pediatrics 168: 43-50, No. 1, Jan 2009 -Netherlands 801135218

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Reactions 24 Jan 2009 No. 12360114-9954/10/1236-0001/$14.95 © 2010 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved