Bilateral Panuveitis Mimicking Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease following the First Dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Vaccine

ABSTRACT

Method

We report a case of bilateral panuveitis and its resolution based on multimodal retinal images after she was administered the first dose of a viral vector-based vaccine against SARS-CoV-2.

Case report

A 72-year-old woman complained of bilateral blurred vision with headache, neck stiffness, and tinnitus 3 days after receiving the first dose of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. Initial examination revealed anterior chamber reactions, left optic disc hyperemia, and bilateral chorioretinal folds with choroidal thickening. Fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography revealed bilateral choroiditis and papillitis. Systemic steroid therapy dramatically alleviated panuveitis and meningeal signs. No recurrence was noted until 3 months after discontinuation of steroids.

Conclusions

Bilateral panuveitis mimicking Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease can develop shortly after the first dose of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. Ophthalmologists should consider bilateral panuveitis as a presumed post-vaccination adverse event. Systemic steroid therapy may be effective for the nCoV-19 vaccine-associated panuveitis.

KEYWORDS:

• ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine
• Choroiditis; COVID-19; Panuveitis
• Vaccine-Associated Uveitis
• Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease

Authors’ Contributions

HJK examined and treated the patient and interpreted the multimodal images. SYK and MSK drafted the manuscript and prepared the figures. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Availabilty of Data and Materials

Data are available upon reasonable request.

Consent for publication

Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and all accompanying images.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics Approval

This study adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. A single clinical case did not require ethics approval by the Institutional Review Board of Yangsan Pusan National University Hospital.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.