Key result
Anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is linked to low myocarditis rates of <10 per 100,000, typically mild and self-limited.
Why the study?
The mechanisms and clinical manifestations of rare myocarditis and pericarditis associated with anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, mainly with messenger RNA vaccines, have not been fully specified across different age groups.
Does anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination cause myocarditis and pericarditis, and what is the clinical prognosis?
Does anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination cause myocarditis and pericarditis, and what is the clinical prognosis?
Myocarditis and pericarditis following anti-SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination are rare and generally resolve favorably, supporting the continued overwhelming net clinical benefit of vaccination.
Reinforces low incidence and short-term safety of mRNA vaccination; leaves long-term outcomes and causality open in Level 5 evidence.
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has mobilized many efforts worldwide to curb its impact on morbidity and mortality. Vaccination of the general population has resulted in the administration of more than 6,700,000,000 doses by the end of October 2021, which is the most effective method to prevent hospitalization and death. Among the adverse effects described, myocarditis and pericarditis are low-frequency events (less than 10 per 100,000 people), mainly observed with messenger RNA vaccines. The mechanisms responsible for these effects have not been specified, considering an exacerbated and uncontrolled immune response and an autoimmune response against specific cardiomyocyte proteins. This greater immunogenicity and reactogenicity is clinically manifested in a differential manner in pediatric patients, adults, and the elderly, determining specific characteristics of its presentation for each age group. It generally develops as a condition of mild to moderate severity, whose symptoms and imaging findings are self-limited, resolving favorably in days to weeks and, exceptionally, reporting deaths associated with this complication. The short- and medium-term prognosis is favorable, highlighting the lack of data on long-term evolution, which should be determined in longer follow-ups.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Parra-Lucares et al. (2021) conducted a review in Vaccine-associated myocarditis and pericarditis. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination (primarily mRNA vaccines) was evaluated on Incidence and clinical course of vaccine-associated myocarditis/pericarditis.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: