Is medical therapy effective for regional lymphadenitis following BCG vaccination?
S. Caglayan, O. Yegin, K. Kayran, N. Timocin, E. Kasirga and M. Gun
Department of Pediatrics, Sosyal Sigortalar Tepecik Teaching Hospital Yenisehir, Izmir, Turkey.
We describe 120 patients with regional lymphadenitis following intradermal
BCG vaccination. Seventy-eight of the patients were given medical therapy
to prevent drainage and suppuration, and 42 patients were followed up
without such treatment. The medical therapy group is divided into three
subgroups: 36 were given erythromycin stearate, 21 isoniazid, and 21
isoniazid plus rifampin. No statistical difference in the incidence of
spontaneous drainage and suppuration was found between the "no therapy" and
the "medical therapy" groups. No significant superiority of any specific
therapy was shown. If lymphadenitis develops rapidly (in two months), the
incidence of spontaneous drainage and suppuration is significantly higher
than in patients with slowly developing lesions. Total surgical excision is
recommended to prevent spontaneous drainage and chronic suppuration in
these rapidly evolving instances.
