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Correspondence
A rare complication of BCG vaccination
The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine contains a live,
attenuated strain of bovine tuberculin bacteria Mycobacterium
bovis. This vaccine is used worldwide on a large scale to protect
children and adults against tuberculosis. Complications after
a BCG vaccination are relatively rare and vary from local
reactions to disseminated BCG infections. We report a patient
with a chronic progressive granulomatous plaque at the site of
vaccination, a highly unusual complication of BCG vaccination.
A healthy 52-year-old woman received a BCG vaccination
30 years earlier. A few weeks afterwards, a plaque developed at
the vaccination site, gradually enlarging over the years.
Dermatological examination showed a round, red-brown
plaque of 7 cm in diameter, consisting of multiple scaly
papules and nodules (Fig. 1). Skin biopsy (Fig. 2) revealed
acanthosis and parakeratosis of the epidermis and a dense
lymphocytic infiltrate with scattered epithelioid histiocytes,
Langhans’ giant cells and some noncaseating granulomas in
the dermis. No crystals were identified with polarized light
microscopy. No microagents were depicted using auramine,
Ziehl-Neelsen, and Wade-Fite stains. The direct PCR on
M. tuberculosis complex, and culture for mycobacteria were
both negative. Chest X-ray and laboratory tests, including
total proteins, calcium, ACE, lysozyme, HIV-1 and -2 serology
were normal. The cellular nonantigen-specific immune
system was extensively investigated, revealing no gross
abnormalities.
After we made the diagnosis of chronic BCG granuloma,
the patient was successfully treated with isoniazid and
prednisone daily for 5 months.
Annually, 100 million children are vaccinated worldwide
with BCG vaccine to protect them against tuberculosis.
1
Complications after vaccination consist of abscess formation,
keloid, ulceration, lymphadenitis, urticaria, erythema
multiforme, and most severe disseminated BCG-itis,
sometimes with fatal consequences.
1–3
Figure 1 Above: before treatment. A solitary, more or less
round, red-brown plaque (7 cm in diameter) with sharp borders
consisting of multiple lenticular papules and nodules with
limited scaling on the left shoulder
Under: after treatment. Residual abnormality on the left
shoulder after treatment with prednisone and isoniazid. Note
the peripheral postinflammatory hyperpigmentations and a pink
squamous thin plaque (2 cm in diameter) at the centre
International Journal of Dermatology 2009, 48, 546–548 © 2009 The International Society of Dermatology