Use of the DTaP vaccine, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough, in preterm infants does not increase the risk of potentially serious heart or breathing problems, according to a report in the journal Pediatrics.
In particular, the findings indicate that the DTaP vaccine is not associated with prolonged slowing of the heart rate, known as bradycardia, or with extended periods of no breathing, known as apnea.
The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends that preterm infants receive the DTaP vaccine at two months of age, regardless of their birth weight and or how long the pregnancy lasted. However, several researchers have reported an apparent increase in bradycardia and apnea following immunisation, leading many primary care doctors to disregard the AAP guidelines.
To determine if DTaP vaccination does, in fact, increase the risk of these problems, Dr. Tracy Carbone, from Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and colleagues used recording monitors to assess the occurrence of bradycardia and apnea in 191 preterm infants randomly assigned to receive or not receive DTaP.
Overall, 16,1 percent of vaccinated infants experienced one or more episodes of prolonged apnea compared with 20,4 percent of unvaccinated infants, the report shows. Likewise, the proportion of infants with one or more episodes of prolonged bradycardia was similar in each group, hovering around 57 percent.
"Our results support and validate the long-standing AAP recommendations for immunisation of preterm infants," the authors conclude. Doctors "should be reassured that there is no apparent rationale for unnecessary delays in the administration of DTaP immunisations even to very preterm infants."