VACCINE

“... these occurrences support an association between
receipt of aluminium adjuvant and sterile abscesses in susceptible patients.”
BMJ Case Reports • March 2009
Findings that shed new light on the possible pathogenesis of a disease or an adverse effect
Recurrent sterile abscesses
following aluminium adjuvant-containing vaccines
Author Information
Nicola P Klein1, Kathryn M Edwards3, Robert C Sparks3, Cornelia L Dekker2,
on behalf of the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) Network
1. Kaiser PermanenteVaccine Study Center, 16th Floor, One Kaiser Plaza, Oakland, California 94612, USA
2. Stanford University School of Medicine, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, California, USA
3. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, Department of Pediatrics
1211 Medical Center Drive, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA
Nicola Klein, Nicola.Klein@kp.org
Summary
Abscess formation following immunisation is a previously reported complication, generally associated with microbial
contamination of the vaccine. Less commonly, such abscesses have been sterile. Here we describe two
children evaluated in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded Clinical Immunization Safety
Assessment (CISA) network who developed recurrent sterile abscesses after administration of vaccines containing
aluminium adjuvant, either individually or in combination. Although the abscesses healed without sequelae,
these occurrences support an association between receipt of aluminium adjuvant and sterile abscesses in susceptible
patients. For patients with similar symptoms, clinicians may wish to choose a vaccine formulation containing
the least amount of aluminium adjuvant.
http://casereports.bmj.com/content/2009/bcr.09.2008.0951.long