Vasculitis complicating vaccination: a report of three cases

Introduction. - Vaccines may be responsible for adverse effects, mainly local fugitive and benign reactions. However, few cases of systemic vasculitis have been described. We report three new cases, suggesting the responsibility of vaccination in starting or reactivating systemic vasculitis. Exegesis, - We report two cases in a 64- and a 68-year-old woman with polymyalgia rheumatica and temporal arteritis after influenza and tetanus vaccination respectively, and one case in a 30-year-old man with periarteritis nodosa after hepatitis B vaccination. Conclusion, - Knowledge of such complications deserve to be expanded in order to:1) avoid re-immunisations which are likely to result in more serious consequences; 2) avoid aggravation or reactivation of a vasculitis; and 3) control serology before hepatitis B vaccination in ail persons at risk of HBV infection. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.