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Successful management of cutaneous BCG dissemination in a child affected by SCID and receiving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 50, pages 1572–1573 (2015)Cite this article

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Vaccination against tuberculosis is a practice recommended by the World Health Organization at birth in areas where tuberculosis is endemic (www.who.int). This procedure requires the intramuscular inoculation of the Bacillus Calmette–Guèrin (BCG), which is a live, attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis. A possible consequence of this inoculation is the development of infection that ranges from localized lesions, as subcutaneous abscesses in the site of inoculation, to disseminated disease.1, 2 The majority of patients who develop disseminated disease after BCG vaccination are those affected with genetic disorders with reduced T-cell number and function, and in some cases also B cells or NK cells (SCID), which is undiagnosed before vaccination.3, 4 Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is the only treatment for SCID, but a high transplant-related mortality rate is reported in the case of disseminated BCG infection.5

We report a case of successful management of a disseminated BCG infection in a child with a diagnosis of X-linked SCID undergoing allo-HSCT.

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Author notes

  1. A Naselli, G Losurdo, S Giardino, G Morreale, C Savioli and E Castagnola: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Infectious Diseases Unit, Genoa, Italy

    A Naselli, G Losurdo & E Castagnola

  2. Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Unit, Genoa, Italy

    S Giardino & G Morreale

  3. Pathology Unit, Istituto Giannina Gaslini - Ospedale Pediatrico IRCCS, Genoa, Italy

    C Savioli

Authors
  1. A Naselli
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  2. G Losurdo
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  3. S Giardino
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  4. G Morreale
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  5. C Savioli
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  6. E Castagnola
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Correspondence to E Castagnola.

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Naselli, A., Losurdo, G., Giardino, S. et al. Successful management of cutaneous BCG dissemination in a child affected by SCID and receiving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Bone Marrow Transplant 50, 1572–1573 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2015.146

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