Routine primary immunisation using a longer needle resulted in fewer local reactions in infants
QUESTION: When giving routine immunisations to infants, does needle length affect the incidence of local reactions?
Design
Randomised (allocation concealed), blinded (outcome assessors), controlled trial with follow up to 3 days.
Setting
8 general practices in Buckinghamshire, UK.
Participants
119 healthy infants attending routine immunisation clinics. Exclusion criteria were those applicable to children receiving primary immunisations. 92% of infants (58% boys) completed follow up.
Intervention
58 infants were allocated to receive their third dose of diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus and Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccines (due at 16 weeks) given with a 23 gauge, 25 mm (longer) blue hub needle and 61 were allocated to vaccine administration with a 25 gauge, 16 mm (shorter) orange hub needle. Practice nurses were instructed to inject into the anterolateral thigh, …
