Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Randomized Trial of BCG Vaccination at Birth to Low-Birth-Weight Children: Beneficial Nonspecific Effects in the Neonatal Period?

Aaby, Peter ; Roth, Adam LU ; Ravn, Henrik ; Napirna, Bitiguida Mutna ; Rodrigues, Amabelia ; Lisse, Ida Maria ; Stensballe, Lone ; Diness, Birgitte Rode ; Lausch, Karen Rokkedal and Lund, Najaaraq , et al. (2011) In Journal of Infectious Diseases 204(2). p.245-252
Abstract
Background. Observational studies have suggested that BCG may have nonspecific beneficial effects on survival. Low-birth-weight (LBW) children are not given BCG at birth in Guinea-Bissau; we conducted a randomized trial of BCG at birth (early BCG) vs delayed BCG. Methods. In the period 2004-2008 we recruited 2320 LBW children in Bissau. The children were visited at home at 2, 6, and 12 months of age. With a pretrial infant mortality of 250 per 1000, we hypothesized a 25% reduction in infant mortality for LBW children. Results. Infant mortality was only 101 per 1000 during the trial. In the primary analysis, infant mortality was reduced insignificantly by 17% (mortality rate ratio [MRR] = .83 [.63-1.08]). In secondary analyses, early BCG... (More)
Background. Observational studies have suggested that BCG may have nonspecific beneficial effects on survival. Low-birth-weight (LBW) children are not given BCG at birth in Guinea-Bissau; we conducted a randomized trial of BCG at birth (early BCG) vs delayed BCG. Methods. In the period 2004-2008 we recruited 2320 LBW children in Bissau. The children were visited at home at 2, 6, and 12 months of age. With a pretrial infant mortality of 250 per 1000, we hypothesized a 25% reduction in infant mortality for LBW children. Results. Infant mortality was only 101 per 1000 during the trial. In the primary analysis, infant mortality was reduced insignificantly by 17% (mortality rate ratio [MRR] = .83 [.63-1.08]). In secondary analyses, early BCG vaccine was safe with an MRR of .49 (.21-1.15) after 3 days and .55 (.34-.89) after 4 weeks. The reduction in neonatal mortality was mainly due to fewer cases of neonatal sepsis, respiratory infection, and fever. The impact of early BCG on infant mortality was marked for children weighing <1.5 kg (MRR = .43 [.21-.85]) who had lower coverage for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccinations. Conclusions. Though early BCG did not reduce infant mortality significantly, it may have a beneficial effect in the neonatal period. This could be important for public health because BCG is often delayed in low-income countries. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Infectious Diseases
volume
204
issue
2
pages
245 - 252
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • wos:000292562200013
  • scopus:79551712276
  • pmid:21673035
ISSN
1537-6613
DOI
10.1093/infdis/jir240
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
de89b13c-8a1b-438c-98a5-229f3b61333f (old id 2094062)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:32:48
date last changed
2022-05-20 00:59:26
@article{de89b13c-8a1b-438c-98a5-229f3b61333f,
  abstract     = {{Background. Observational studies have suggested that BCG may have nonspecific beneficial effects on survival. Low-birth-weight (LBW) children are not given BCG at birth in Guinea-Bissau; we conducted a randomized trial of BCG at birth (early BCG) vs delayed BCG. Methods. In the period 2004-2008 we recruited 2320 LBW children in Bissau. The children were visited at home at 2, 6, and 12 months of age. With a pretrial infant mortality of 250 per 1000, we hypothesized a 25% reduction in infant mortality for LBW children. Results. Infant mortality was only 101 per 1000 during the trial. In the primary analysis, infant mortality was reduced insignificantly by 17% (mortality rate ratio [MRR] = .83 [.63-1.08]). In secondary analyses, early BCG vaccine was safe with an MRR of .49 (.21-1.15) after 3 days and .55 (.34-.89) after 4 weeks. The reduction in neonatal mortality was mainly due to fewer cases of neonatal sepsis, respiratory infection, and fever. The impact of early BCG on infant mortality was marked for children weighing &lt;1.5 kg (MRR = .43 [.21-.85]) who had lower coverage for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccinations. Conclusions. Though early BCG did not reduce infant mortality significantly, it may have a beneficial effect in the neonatal period. This could be important for public health because BCG is often delayed in low-income countries.}},
  author       = {{Aaby, Peter and Roth, Adam and Ravn, Henrik and Napirna, Bitiguida Mutna and Rodrigues, Amabelia and Lisse, Ida Maria and Stensballe, Lone and Diness, Birgitte Rode and Lausch, Karen Rokkedal and Lund, Najaaraq and Biering-Sorensen, Sofie and Whittle, Hilton and Benn, Christine Stabell}},
  issn         = {{1537-6613}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{245--252}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of Infectious Diseases}},
  title        = {{Randomized Trial of BCG Vaccination at Birth to Low-Birth-Weight Children: Beneficial Nonspecific Effects in the Neonatal Period?}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jir240}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/infdis/jir240}},
  volume       = {{204}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}