Analyzing Reported Cases of Myocarditis After COVID-19 Vaccination

Reports of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination, although rare, merit further investigation. A study presented at this week’s 2022 Critical Care Congress compiled and examined the clinical, laboratory, and investigational data on confirmed cases of post-COVID-19 vaccination myocarditis in adults.

The investigators, Abhishek Matta, MD, Danielle Mata, APRN-CNP, and Dinesh Bande, MD, assessed the clinical features, investigational findings, and clinical prognosis of reported myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination. They searched the PubMed database for articles about post-COVID-19 vaccination myocarditis, published before July 6, 2021.

Included studies were published in English and reported individual patient data on adults hospitalized with suspected post-mRNA vaccination myocarditis. Editorials, correspondence, reviews, perspectives, and original articles were all excluded from the study. Of the 37 articles identified, a total of 13 met the study’s inclusion criteria.

Myocarditis after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination primarily occurred in in men who averaged 27.5 years of age. Myocarditis occurred in recipients of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. Myocarditis reports were more common after the second dose of a primary mRNA vaccine series.

On average, patients presented to the hospital 3 days after COVID-19 vaccination. The main presenting symptom was chest pain, in 96.7% of patients. In all participants, troponin was elevated and cardiac MRI displayed late gadolinium enhancement. The average time spent in the hospital was 5.5 days, and all of the patients recovered well.

The investigators concluded that post-COVID-19 vaccination myocarditis may be a hypersensitivity reaction to the mRNA vaccines. Predominantly occurring in young men, myocarditis has a good prognosis. The study authors recommended further study

You can read more on what we know about post-COVID-19 vaccination myocarditis here.

The study, “A Meta-analysis of Myocarditis post mRNA Vaccine Administration,” was presented on April 18, 2022, during the 51st Critical Care Congress.