Outcome of Glomerular Disease Manifesting After Vaccination Against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 16; no. 7; p. e63767
• Main Authors: Roy, Shuvam, Kaul, Anupma, Yachha, Monika, Prasad, Pallavi, Kushwaha, Ravi S, Patel, Manas, Prasad, Narayan, Jain, Manoj, Behera, Manas Ranjan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Cureus Inc 03-07-2024
• Subjects: Biopsy; COVID-19 vaccines; Creatinine; Cytokines; Diabetes; Edema; Fever; Hematuria; Hypertension; Illnesses; Kidney diseases; Patients; Remission (Medicine); Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Steroids; Tuberculosis; India; post-vaccination glomerular disease; sars-cov-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus -2); covid-19 vaccinations; post-vaccination glomerulonephritis; covaxin and covishield; glomerular disease; glomerulonephritis
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.63767

Introduction Vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can upregulate the immune system and may contribute to glomerular disease (GD). Here, we describe a spectrum of GD that manifested following vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 vaccinations). Material and methods This was a descriptive study of 10 cases enrolled between January 2021 and January 2023. Patients with biopsy-proven GD that manifested following COVID-19 vaccinations were included. Results We found 10 cases of biopsy-proven GD following the COVID-19 vaccination. This included five cases of minimal change disease (MCD), three cases of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), one case of C3 glomerulonephritis (C3GN), and one case of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). The pre-existing disease was found in the last two patients (IgAN and C3GN) who got unmasked following vaccination. We did not observe any relation between vaccine type (Covisheld; six cases vs. Covaxin; four cases) and GD. In most cases (8/10 cases, 80.0%), GD developed after a repeat dose (second or booster dose). The onset time following vaccination was typically less than a week, and even less following a repeat dose. Conclusion Post-vaccination GD can be either de novo or a flare-up of a pre-existing one. The onset time following vaccination was typically less than a week for both Covishield and Covaxin.