Evaluation of oral erythromycin and local isoniazid instillation therapy in infants with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin lymphadenitis and abscesses

A randomized placebo-controlled prospective trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of erythromycin therapy in 69 patients affected with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin lymphadenitis. When patients who developed subsequent regional abscesses were excluded, erythromycin caused significantly earlier resolution of lymphadenitis (5.1 months vs. 5.7 months for placebo; p < 0.001) compared with placebo. There was no significant difference in the proportion of patients who developed subsequent regional abscesses between the 2 groups (47 percent for erythromycin, 60 percent for placebo, p = 0.14). When the entire group of 69 patients was evaluated for "duration to heal" (regardless of subsequent abscess formation), erythromycin therapy (4.1 +/- 1.5 sd months) did not differ significantly from the placebo group (3.5 +/- 1.3 months, p = not significant). Patients who develop subsequent abscess (n = 36) along with those with B. Calmette-Guerin regional abcesses at presentation (n = 27) were further studied to compare oral erythromycin therapy with that of single dose 50-mg intranodal isoniazid instillation. Local isoniazid therapy caused significantly earlier resolution of the abscesses (3.9 months) compared with erthromycin therapy (5.2 months; p < 0.001). (AU)

Outbreak of Bacillus Calmette-Guerlin-associated lymphadenitis and abscesses in Jamaican children

An outbreak of axillary lymphadenitis and abscesses after Bacillus Calmette-Guerlin (BCG) vaccination (Pasteur Paris, Batch N5122) occurred in 139 Jamaican children between January and July, 1988. The overall rate of this complication was 0.95 percent. The attack rate was 1.92 percent among the 0- to 6 week age group and 0.6 percent in the 7- to 52-week age group. Of 139 patients there were 77 males and 62 females and the mean age at presentation was 4 months. The mean size of the BCG scar, duration of healing and Mantoux reaction size differed significantly in patients compared with those of control infants (P less than 0.01). Mycobacterium bovis was isolated from 11 patients. Immunologically index patients and controls differed significantly only with respect to T lymphocyte subpopulation percentages and concanavalin A stimulation indices. Evaluation of the BCG vaccine did not reveal either increased potency or microbial contamination. We conclude that increased susceptibility to the Pasteur strain of BCG might have contributed to the increased incidence of complications in these Jamaican children and hence caution should be exercised in switching one vaccine for another as is often done in the developing countries. (AU)

Evaluation of oral erythromycin and local instillation of INH therapy, in infants with BCG lymphadenitis - abstract

The most common adverse effect of BCG vaccination is regional lymphadenitis, but the treatment of this complication is controversial. A group of 69 patients, with BCG adenitis following vaccination were randomly assigned to receive either "no therapy" or oral erythromycin for one month. Systemic erythromycin therapy caused earlier resolution of the lymph node but failed to prevent progression to abscess formation. Patients who developed subsequent abscesses (36) and another group who had abscess at the time of presentation (27) showed more rapid resolution when treated with single instillation of isoniazid (50mg) into the abscess cavity, compared to oral erythromycin therapy (AU)