Those without anaphylaxis to egg don't need to undergo vaccine skin test prior to vaccination
MONDAY, April 5 (HealthDay News) -- Pediatric patients who are allergic to eggs (but don't have anaphylaxis to egg) can safely receive influenza vaccination in two graded doses without a prior vaccine skin test as a precaution to avoid serious adverse reaction, according to research published online April 5 in Pediatrics.
Erica Y. Chung, M.D., of Children's Hospital Boston, and colleagues reviewed the charts of 171 egg-allergic patients, 6 months to 18 years of age, who had either an influenza vaccine skin test prior to having the vaccine or had the influenza vaccine in two graded doses without the prior skin test. The subjects were observed for any adverse reactions.
The researchers found that, among the children who received the skin test before the vaccination, 95 percent tolerated the vaccine without a serious adverse reaction, and this rate did not change after the skin test was removed from the protocol. Among the children who did not receive a skin test prior to the graded, two-dose vaccination, 97 percent tolerated the vaccine without a serious adverse reaction. The tolerance rate ratio was 1.01.
"The results of our study suggest that egg-allergic patients without anaphylaxis to egg may safely receive the influenza vaccine in a two-dose, graded fashion without a vaccine skin test," the authors write.
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