No Increase in Seizures Seen After DTaP Vaccination

The diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) does not appear to increase a child's risk for seizures, according to a retrospective analysis from the CDC's Vaccine Safety Datalink project.

The analysis, published online in Pediatrics, included more than 430,000 children aged 6 weeks to 23 months who received approximately 1.3 million doses of DTaP over a 10-year period. Overall, there were about 7200 seizures requiring emergency department or hospital care. In adjusted analyses, the seizure incidence was no higher within 4 days after vaccination than during other times.

The authors point out that the previously used, whole-cell pertussis vaccine (DTP) had been associated with an increase in febrile seizures. Accordingly, they conclude that their findings for the currently used DTaP vaccine "provide reassuring evidence that [it] is not associated with acute seizure events and is safe for routine immunization in early childhood."

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