Age: 1.17
Sex: M
Vaccine: DTAP, DTPHIB, HEP, OPV, RV, UNK
Symptoms: Autism, Drug toxicity, Nervous system disorder
Clinical narrative: Pt had a legal complaint. An attorney reported that a male infant, a quadruplet, received Acel-Imune and Tetramune vaccine from 1/13/99 to 3/10/00. It is alleged that as a result of the cumulative exposure to thimerosal in the vaccines the child experienced neurological damage in September 2000. He was also diagnosed with autism. The attorney alleges that all 4 quadruplets from this family experienced these events. See related cases HQ40748058SEP2002, HQ4142610SEP2002 and HQ4142710SEP2002. This case was considered serious since autism, thimerosal poisoning and neurological damage were considered medically important in this case. No additional info was available as of the date of this report. A 15-day follow up report received 01/12/2004 adds: Follow-up info was received on 12/29/2003 from an attorney which included the pt's medical records. An attorney reported that a male infant received a dose of Acel-Imune (diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis) vaccine (manufacturer unknown) and Tetramune (diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis vaccine adsorbed) vaccine (manufacturer unknown) on an unspecified date sometime between 01/13/1999 and 03/10/2000. It is alleged that the child, now 5 years of age, subsequently developed thimerosal-induced mercury poisoning. The legal brief alleges that the child is afflicted with autism because he was exposed to toxic levels of mercury and suffered neurological damage in Sept 2000. Medical history: The child, one of a set of quadruplets, was born prematurely at 31.5 weeks. Due to the premature birth, the pt experienced apnea of prematurity, anemia of prematurity, jaundice and respiratory distress. He also had a problem with slow feeding and a nonspecific feeding intolerance. At birth, Apgar scores were 8 at 1 minute and 9 at 5 minutes. He has a family history of 3 brothers having autism, one of whom has developmental regression. Product details: According to the medical records, additional suspect vaccines administered during the alleged time period of 01/13/1999 and 03/10/2000 included poliovirus vaccine live oral trivalent vaccine (manufacturer unknown), Hib (Haemophilus b conjugate) vaccine (manufacturer unknown), Synagis (palivizumab) vaccine (MedImmune), Engerix-B (hepatitis B) vaccine (GSK), M-M-R II (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine (Merck), IPOL (inactivated poliomyelitis) vaccine (Aventis) and hepatitis B vaccine (manufacturer unknown). Event details: According to the medical records, a physician's evaluation dated 12/20/1999 indicated that the pt's language delay is possibly due to the "prematurity plus his family trying trying to anticipate the child's needs." On 09/29/2000, a speech/language pathologist assessed the pt as having mild delays in receptive and expressive language skills. On 01/04/2001, a psychologist's evaluation indicated that the child demonstrated significant delays in communication, socialization skills and self-help skills. The psychologist concluded that the child may be experiencing a development regression and will need evaluation for autism in the future. This case was considered medically important. Medical records are on file. Related case(s): See related cases: HQ4142510SEP2002, HQ4142710SEP2002 and HQ4142610SEP2002.