Age: 1.17
Sex: M
Vaccine: DTAP, DTPHIB, HEP, IPV
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 four quadruplets from this family experienced these events. See related cases HQ4074805SEP2002, HQ4142510SEP2002 and HQ4142610SEP2002. 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 received provided the pt's medical records. An attorney reported that a male infant allegedly received Acel-Imune and Tetramune vaccines between 01/13/1999 and 03/10/2000. It is alleged that as a result of the cumulative exposure to thimerosal in the vaccines the child was "exposed to toxic levels of mercury and suffered neurological damage in Sept 2000 and thereafter". The attorney reported that the child "suffered mercury toxicity, neurologic injury and is autistic." Medical history: The pt is one of a set of male quadruplets. A hospital discharge summary from after the pt's birth indicated that the pt was born prematurely, at 31.5 weeks. The infant experienced hypoventilation in the delivery room. 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. Apgar scores were 8 and 9 at 1 and 5 minutes respectively. Product details: According to medical records, additional suspect vaccinations received during the alleged time period of 01/13/1999 and 03/10/2000 included: Synagis (MedImune), Engerix-B (GSK), Haemophilus influenzae b (manufacturer unknown), Diphtheria, Tetanus toxoids and Pertussis (manufacturer unknown), oral poliomyelitis virus vaccine (manufacturer unknown), Hepatitis B vaccine (manufacturer unknown), MMR-II (Merck) and IPOL (Aventis). Event details: According to medical records, on 12/20/1999, a neonatologist stated that the pt was "doing well developmentally in all areas except in his language development. This language delay is possibly due to prematurity..." On 02/01/2000, a psychologist reported that a diagnosis of autism was confirmed and at that time the pt had a mild to moderate level of impairment associated with autism. On 09/29/2000, a speech/language pathologist assessed the pt as having moderate delays in both receptive and expressive language skills. On 12/08/2000, a child neurologist stated that the pt probably has pervasive developmental disorder. On 01/19/2001, in an evaluation to assess the pt for pervasive developmental disorder, a psychologist reported that the pt "meets criteria for a DSM-IV diagnosis of Autistic Disorder." Medical records are on file. Related cases: The pt is one of a set of male quadruplets. All 3 of this brothers experienced similar event (see MCN HQ4142510SEP2002, HQ4142610SEP2002 and HQ4074805SEP2002).