Preterm infants need monitoring after vaccination

Premature infants vaccinated at around two months of age should be carefully monitored, as there is a higher risk of heart and respiratory side effects. C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute-phase reactant and its level increases in the presence of inflammation caused by infection or tissue injury. Researchers from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, studied 239 preterm infants at the age of two months or more in the neonatal intensive care unit. Each infant had received either a single vaccine or multiple vaccines on one day. Among these were diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis combination vaccines and inactivated poliovirus vaccine. The infants were monitored for three days after immunisation. It was found that there is an abnormal elevation of CRP level in 85 per cent of infants administered multiple vaccines and up to 70 per cent of those given a single vaccine. Overall, 16 per cent of infants had vaccine-associated cardiorespiratory difficulties, such as temporary stoppage of breathing or a slow heart rate, within 48 hours after immunisation. The findings showed that CRP level is likely to rise within 48 hours of immunisation. A minority of immunised infants suffered events that needed intervention. Therefore, precautionary monitoring is necessary following immunisation in premature babies.