PEDIATRICS Vol. 75 No. 3 March 1985, pp. 617
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Pertussis Vaccine and Neurologic Disease

MARY L. KUMAR MD1 and EDWARD A. MORTIMER JR MD1

1 Departments of Pediatrics and Epidemiology and Community Health, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital, Cleveland, OH 44109

To the Editor.—

The revised recommendations of the Committee on Infectious Diseases concerning the use of pertussis vaccine in infants with proven or suspected neurologic disease1 warrant comment. Such modified recommendations are needed because of confusion about the causation of coincident or preexisting neurologic disease that appears or is first recognized in temporal association with the administration of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, (DTP), which confusion has resulted in extensive litigation over alleged personal injury. Although most authorities believe that pertussis vaccine does on rare occasions produce permanent neurologic damage, it is clear that the vast majority of these alleged injuries are of other etiology.