Five cases of corneal graft rejection after recent COVID-19 vaccinations and a review of the literature
Molero-Senosiain, Mercedes Savant, Vijay
Molero-Senosiain, Mercedes
Savant, Vijay
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report 5 cases of acute corneal graft rejection after COVID-19 vaccination and perform a review of the literature.
Methods: This was a case series and review of literature dated on the October 10, 2021.
Results: We describe 5 cases-2 patients with Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (for Fuchs endothelial dystrophy) who presented with acute corneal graft rejection after their first dose of mRNA (BNT162) vaccine. The other 3 patients who had penetrating keratoplasty performed more than 10 years ago for keratoconus presented with acute graft rejection-2 patients after their second dose of adenovirus vector (AZD1222) vaccine and 1 patient after first dose of mRNA (BNT162) vaccine. Three patients were not using any topical steroid treatment at the time of diagnosis of graft rejection. The mean duration between vaccination and onset of symptoms was 16.86 ± 6.96 days for the mRNA vaccine and 17 ± 11.89 days for the adenovirus vector vaccine.
Conclusions: Corneal graft rejection has recently been reported after COVID-19 vaccination. Patients with keratoplasty need to be advised regarding the risk of corneal graft rejection and warning symptoms of rejection after COVID-19 vaccination. Seeking early referral to the emergency department and increasing topical steroids pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 vaccination may reduce the risk of rejection.
MIDER Authors
Citations
Altmetric:
Date
2022-05-01
Type
Article
Subject
COVID-19 vaccine, Vaccination, mRNA, Adenovirus vector, Corneal graft rejection, Transplant
Collections
Citation
Molero-Senosiain, M., Houben, I., Savant, S., & Savant, V. (2022). Five Cases of Corneal Graft Rejection After Recent COVID-19 Vaccinations and a Review of the Literature. Cornea, 41(5), 669–672. https://doi.org/10.1097/ICO.0000000000002980