title: Reactogenicity and immunogenicity of adult versus paediatric diphtheria and tetanus booster dose at 6 years of age.
abstract: We evaluated the reactogenicity and immunogenicity of a booster dose of diphtheria-tetanus vaccine administered at the age of school-entry, comparing a low-dose vaccine (dT) to the standard paediatric dose (DT). Participants were randomly assigned to receive one of the two vaccines; the study was evaluator-blinded. The frequency of side-reactions was similar when comparing the two groups, except when considering local redness and swelling, which were significantly more frequent among the DT group. The post-booster geometric mean titre of diphtheria antibodies in the DT group was twice as high as that in the dT group (14.1 IU/ml versus 7.7 IU/ml; P<0.001). The higher antibody response and the comparable reactogenicity indicate that DT should be used as booster at school-entry, particularly if additional booster doses during adolescence or adulthood are not administered.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Reparto Malattie Infettive, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Roma, Italy. ciofi@iss.it
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ciofi degli Atti
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salmaso
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cotter
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alfarone
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bella
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: von Hunolstein
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D003017:Clostridium tetani / Q000276:immunology; D003353:Corynebacterium diphtheriae / Q000276:immunology; D022422:Diphtheria-Tetanus Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012449:Safety; D016037:Single-Blind Method
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D022422:Diphtheria-Tetanus Vaccine; D007074:Immunoglobulin G