Cryoglobulinemia after Hepatitis B Vaccination

To the Editor: Vaccination with hepatitis B recombinant vaccine has few serious side effects¹ (about 1 per 100,000 doses administered). Some cases of vasculitis have been reported.² We report two cases of vasculitis with cryoglobulinemia after vaccination against hepatitis B.A previously healthy, 18-year-old woman who was not taking any medication on a regular basis received a first dose of hepatitis B recombinant vaccine (GenHevac, Pasteur Vaccines) in March 1995 and a second dose in April 1995. Ten days after she received the second dose, painful necrotic and bullous purpura of the legs, suggestive of cutaneous vasculitis, developed. The lesion . . .