Objectives: Vaccination is an important intervention for preventing disease and reducing disease severity. Universal vaccination programs have significantly reduced the incidence of many dangerous diseases among children worldwide. This study investigated the side effects after immunization in infants under 1 year of age in Lorestan Province, western Iran. Methods: This descriptive analytical study included data from all children <1 year old in Lorestan Province, Iran who were vaccinated according to the national schedule in 2020 and had an adverse event following immunization (AEFI). Data were extracted from 1084 forms on age, sex, birth weight, type of birth, AEFI type, vaccine type, and time of vaccination. Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage) were calculated, and the chi-square test and Fisher exact test were used to assess differences in AEFIs according to the abovelisted variables. Results: The most frequent AEFIs were high fever (n=386, 35.6%), mild local reaction (n=341, 31.5%), and swelling and pain (n=121, 11.2%). The least common AEFIs were encephalitis (n=1, 0.1%), convulsion (n=2, 0.2%), and nodules (n=3, 0.3%). Girls and boys only showed significant differences in mild local reactions (p=0.044) and skin allergies (p=0.002). The incidence of lymphadenitis (p<0.001), severe local reaction (p<0.001), mild local reaction (p=0.007), fainting (p=0.032), swelling and pain (p=0.006), high fever (p=0.005), and nodules (p<0.001) showed significant differences based on age at vaccination. Conclusions Immunization is a fundamental public health policy for controlling vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. Although vaccines such as the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine, oral poliovirus vaccine, and pentavalent vaccine are well-researched and reliable, AEFIs are inevitable.

PURPOSE: Jaundice accounts for most hospital admissions in the neonatal period. Nowadays, in addition to phototherapy, other auxiliary methods are used to reduce jaundice and the length of hospitalization. This study aimed to investigate the effect of probiotics on the treatment of hyper-bilirubinemia in full-term neonates. METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial, 83 full-term neonates, who were admitted to the hospital to receive phototherapy in the first 6 months of 2015, were randomly divided into two groups: synbiotic (SG, n=40) and control (CG, n=43). Both groups received phototherapy but the SG also received 5 drops/day of synbiotics. Serum bilirubin, urine, stool, feeding frequency, and weight were measured daily until hospital discharge. A p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean total serum bilirubin in the SG was lower than that in the CG (9.38±2.37 and 11.17±2.60 mg/dL, respectively). The urine and stool frequency in the SG was significantly higher than that in the CG (p<0.05). The duration of hospitalization in the SG was shorter than that in the CG. CONCLUSION: Use of synbiotics as an adjuvant therapy had a significant treatment effect on jaundice in full-term neonates. Further studies including larger samples with long follow-up periods are essential to confirm the benefits of routine use of synbiotics in neonatal patients with jaundice.
Bilirubin ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Jaundice ; Phototherapy ; Probiotics ; Synbiotics