Evaluation of the safety profile of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with MS, NMOSD, and MOGAD.

INTRODUCTION: Vaccination against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is recommended for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD). However, vaccine safety in these patients taking immunotherapeutic agents is unclear as they were not included in the vaccine trials. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with MS, NMOSD, and MOGAD. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of MS, NMOSD, and MOGAD patients at the Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital. Information regarding vaccination schedules and adverse events was collected. RESULTS: A total of 56 patients (19, 22, and 15 patients with MS, NMOSD, and MOGAD, respectively) with a median age of 48.18 ± 15.72 years (range, 16-81 years) were included. Of them, 42 (75.0%) were female. In total, 76.8% (43/56) of all patients were vaccinated, and the vaccination rate was the highest for NMOSD patients (81.8%) and the lowest for MS patients (68.4%). All vaccinated patients were administered mRNA vaccines at least once in single or multiple vaccination doses. Only 3 of 43 (7.0%) vaccinated patients experienced clinical relapse following vaccination. Facial sensory changes with a brainstem lesion developed in an MS patient taking dimethyl fumarate, while myelitis occurred in a MOGAD patient receiving azathioprine maintenance therapy. The first episode of optic neuritis occurred in a patient who was later diagnosed with MOGAD. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated a favorable safety profile with no serious adverse events associated with COVID-19 vaccines in patients with MS, NMOSD, and MOGAD.

Risk and characteristics of Bell's palsy in adults as an adverse event following COVID-19 vaccination: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Although an association between COVID-19 vaccination and Bell's palsy (BP) has been reported, a clear causal relationship has not been elucidated. We investigated the risk and clinical characteristics of BP after COVID-19 vaccination. METHODS: This retrospective chart review evaluated the association between COVID-19 vaccination and BP by comparing the number of patients diagnosed with BP during the pre-COVID-19 vaccination period (March 2018-February 2021) and the COVID-19 mass vaccination period (March 2021-February 2022). We then compared vaccine-related (time between vaccination and BP onset < 42 days) and -unrelated (time interval ≥ 42 days or non-vaccination) clinical characteristics in newly diagnosed patients with BP. RESULTS: BP occurred more during the COVID-19 vaccination period than in the previous three pre-vaccination years. Thirteen patients developed BP within 42 days of vaccination. All patients, except one, developed BP after mRNA-based vaccination, with most cases (9/13, 69.2%) occurring after the second or third dose. Thirteen patients with vaccine-related BP were younger (age 43.92 ± 13.14 vs. 54.32 ± 16.01 years; p = 0.033) and more frequently experienced taste changes (58.8% vs. 10.9%; p = 0.002) than 52 patients with vaccine-unrelated BP. Patients with vaccine-related BP had a greater likelihood of good and faster (p = 0.042) facial nerve function recovery than those with vaccine-unrelated BP (100% vs. 78%). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 vaccines, especially mRNA-based vaccines, may be associated with BP cases with distinctive clinical characteristics, which occur more frequently in young individuals, are frequently accompanied by taste changes, and have fast and good recovery.

Finger Drop-Dominant Variant of Guillain-Barre Syndrome in a Patient With COVID-19: A Case Report.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 that may trigger Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) in selected patients. We describe a case of GBS presenting as marked finger extensor weakness in a 73-year-old woman with COVID-19. Her clinical and electrophysiological findings were consistent with a diagnosis of acute motor axonal neuropathy subtype of GBS with prominent finger dropping. Treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin for 5 days completely resolved her finger extension weakness after 19 months, although other involved extremities recovered earlier at 3 months. This study highlights that COVID-19-associated GBS can present in various forms aside from the classic variant, even in patients without any COVID-19 symptoms. Therefore, it is important to always consider the diagnosis of GBS in patients with COVID-19.

Leg paralysis after AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination diagnosed as neuralgic amyotrophy of the lumbosacral plexus: a case report.

The ongoing global administration of vaccines for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) means that increasing numbers of patients are likely to present with post-vaccination complications. We describe the first reported case of neuralgic amyotrophy (NA) involving the lumbosacral plexus occurring after AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination. The patient presented with acute-onset leg paralysis following administration of the vaccine. Based on the clinical, electrodiagnostic, and radiologic findings, the patient was diagnosed with post-vaccination NA. We speculate that the COVID-19 vaccine elicited an immune-mediated inflammatory response to the injected antigen due to inflammatory immunity in a patient with predisposed susceptibility to NA.