Vaccine administration and the development of immune thrombocytopenic purpura in children

Abstract

The most important reasons cited by the opponents of vaccines are concerns about vaccine safety. Unlike issues such as autism for which no indisputable documentation of direct relationship with vaccine use is available, immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an adverse event that can really follow vaccine administration, and may limit vaccine use because little is known about which vaccines it may follow, its real incidence and severity, the risk of chronic disease, or the possibility of recurrences after new doses of the same vaccine. The main aim of this review is to clarify the real importance of thrombocytopenia as an adverse event and discuss how it may interfere with recommended vaccination schedules. The available data clearly indicate that ITP is very rare and the only vaccine for which there is a demonstrated cause-effect relationship is the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine that can occur in 1 to 3 children every 100,000 vaccine doses. However, also in this case, the incidence of ITP is significantly lower than that observed during the natural diseases that the vaccine prevents. Consequently, ITP cannot be considered a problem limiting vaccine use except in the case of children suffering from chronic ITP who have to receive MMR vaccine. In these subjects, the risk-benefit ratio of the vaccine should be weighed against the risk of measles in the community.

Vaccination and autoimmune diseases: is prevention of adverse health effects on the horizon?

“…Another confirmed autoimmune adverse effect associated with vaccination is the induction of idiopathic thrombocytopenia (ITP), also known as immune thrombocytopenia, following the measles-mumps rubella (MMR) vaccine, in particular within 6 weeks of immunization [95][96][97]. ITP is an autoimmune condition, clinically characterized by low platelet count (less than 100,000 platelets per microliter) due to increased destruction and impaired platelet production, and by the presence of autoantibodies (IgG) directed toward platelet membrane antigens (glycoproteins IIb-IIIa) [98].…”

Anti-vakcinalni pokreti i naučna medicina

“…kod visoko predisponirane jedinke pod odgovarajućim okolnostima). Uistinu, objavljeni primeri povezanosti autoimunskih oboljenja i pojedinih vakcina uključuju Guillian-Barre -ov sindrom [7] i imunsku trombocitopenijsku purpuru [8]. Takve povezanosti se, međutim, beleže veoma retko, a uzročno-posledičnu vezu je, usled ekstremno male učestalosti događaja, teško potvrditi standardnim statističkim metodama [9].…”

Acute immune thrombocytopenic purpura as adverse reaction to oral polio vaccine (OPV)

“…ITP is an adverse event that rarely follows vaccine administration and thus should not limit vaccine use. Cecinati et al 6 found that ITP is very rare and that the only vaccine for which there may be a demonstrated cause-effect relationship is the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine that can occur in only 1-3 children in every 100,000 vaccine doses.…”