A case-control study on the association of pulse oral poliomyelitis vaccination and Gianotti-Crosti syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Since 1995, the Indian government has been launching two National Immunization Days (NIDs) annually to administer oral polio vaccines (OPVs) to children under the age of 5. Our aim was to investigate the association between OPVs and Gianotti-Crosti syndrome (GCS).

METHODS: A board-certified dermatologist in solo practice conducted the examinations. The patients consulted without the need of a referral. We retrieved files of all children under the age of 5 who were diagnosed with GCS in 18 months. There were three NIDs during these months. We charted the number of children 1 month before, 1 week before, 1 week after, and 1 month after the three NIDs.

RESULTS: A total of 116 children (49 boys and 67 girls) under the age of 5 with GCS were found (average age: 2.9 years) within these 18 months of three NIDs. Eleven (9.5%) and 105 (90.5%) children developed GCS 1 month before and 1 month following OPV administration, respectively (RR: 1.81; 95% CI: 1.40-2.35; P < 0.0001). Three (2.6%) and 58 (50.0%) children developed GCS 1 week before and 1 week after OPV administration, respectively (RR: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.12-3.22; P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS: The administration of OPV is significantly associated with the occurrence of GCS in the part of the world that we investigated. As we demonstrated a temporal relationship, this association is likely to be causal.