New Onset of Giant Cell Arteritis following ChAdOx1-S (Vaxevria ® ) Vaccine Administration

• Published in: Vaccines (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 2; p. 434
• Main Authors: Lo Sardo, Luca, Parisi, Simone, Ditto, Maria Chiara, De Giovanni, Rosanna, Maletta, Francesca, Grimaldi, Serena, Brussino, Luisa, Fusaro, Enrico
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-02-2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Adverse and side effects; adverse events; Arteries; Arteritis; Autoimmune diseases; Autoimmunity; Biopsy; C-reactive protein; Cardiovascular diseases; Case Report; Case reports; Case studies; Causes of; Coronary vessels; Coronaviruses; Cough; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccines; Creatinine; Drug dosages; Drugs; Fever; Giant cell arteritis; Giant cells; Headaches; Infections; Inflammation; Jaw; Laboratories; Pathogenesis; Patients; Rheumatic diseases; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Tomography; Vaccines; Vasculitis; Vein & artery diseases; Italy; COVID-19; giant cell arteritis; adverse events; vaccines
• ISSN: 2076-393X; 2076-393X
• DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11020434

We report a 78-year-old man presenting with persistent headaches in vertex and temporo-parietal area; fatigue, worsening after walking; jaw claudication; scotomas; pharyngodynia; and dry cough after the second dose of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (ChAdOx1-S) administration. Laboratory findings showed an elevated C-reactive protein level and FDG-CT PET showed evidence of active large vessel vasculitis with diffuse abnormal artery uptake. Under suspicion of vasculitis, a temporal arteries biopsy was performed; the histopathologic findings demonstrated the transmural inflammatory infiltrate with giant cells, compatible with giant cell arteritis. Although the overall incidence of vaccine-triggered autoimmunity is low, rheumatologists worldwide should be aware of autoimmune diseases as a new potential adverse event of vaccines.