BCG vaccinaton scars of childen under five years in a tertiary care hospital.

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the BCG vaccination scars of under 5 year old children who were admitted to a tertiary care hospital Design Cross sectional descriptive study Setting Ward 3, Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children (LRH) Method All children between 6 and 60 months of age, admitted to ward 3 LRH from October 15th to December 30th 2006, were included in the study. The interviewer-administered questionnaire and examination of the child for BCG scar were the methods used to collect the data. Results: Of 1010 patients admitted to ward 3 LRH during the study period, 923 were analysed. BCG vaccine had been given to all patients. Whilst 821 (89%) patients had the BCG scar, 102 (11%) did not have it. Among patients with the BCG scar, 20% had received BCG vaccine in non tertiary care hospitals, whereas in patients with absent BCG scar, this figure was 35% (p=0.003; p < 0.05). In the Child Health Development Record (CHDR), the BCG scar column had been marked in only 554 (64%). Among 102 patients with absent BCG scar, revaccination was not indicated in 20 (21%) because the BCG scar had been marked as positive in the CHDR. However, 96 had not been revaccinated. Common reasons for non revaccination were unawareness of mothers regarding absent BCG scar (38.5%) and postponement of revaccination (24%). Conclusion There was a significant number of patients with absent BCG scars indicating need for larger scale studies.