Serum Sickness Following Equine Rabies Immunoglobulin Administration - A Case Study

Abstract

A fourteen years old male child presented to the Anti-Rabies Clinic of a tertiary care hospital with rashes all over the body associated with myalgia and mild fever following treatment with Anti-Rabies vaccine and Equine Rabies Immunoglobulin (ERIG) for Category III monkey bite injury. On tenth day of vaccination, the child developed generalized rashes all over the body. He was primarily treated with anti-histaminics and analgesics. However, the rashes still increased in size and later involved the whole body including the face. He was then treated with corticosteroids (Injection Dexamethasone 4 mg/ 2 mL) and was completely cured after three days. The adverse reaction following ERIG administration was diagnosed as a case of Serum Sickness and reported to the Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centre of the College. The purpose of this case study is to create awareness about the adverse drug reactions following ERIG administration among the health care personnel, importance of prompt management of such Serum Sickness cases and timely reporting to the ADR Monitoring Centre. It has its own implications for policy makers.