Orbital Cellulitis following COVID-19 Vaccination.

Abstract

A 72-year-old male patient was referred to our outpatient clinic with a painful left eye protrusion accompanied by marked conjunctival chemosis and external ophthalmoplegia being progressed despite topical and oral antibiotic therapy. He developed ocular symptoms 9 days after receiving his second SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (VeroCell). Of note, in previous history, 2 weeks after the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, he also developed a life-threatening laryngeal oedema treated at an emergency care unit. MRI of the orbit excluded pansinusitis as possible origin of the orbital cellulitis, and repeated COVID-19 antigen and antibody PCR tests were negative during his hospitalization. On the next day after his admittance, parenteral dexamethasone 250 mg/die treatment was commenced resulting in a quick and complete resolution of the symptoms. Due to the facts regarding this case, such as the temporal coincidence and the lack of respective comorbidity, there might be a causative relationship between the vaccination and the presented orbital cellulitis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on orbital cellulitis as a possible ocular adverse event following COVID-19 vaccination.

• Authors: András Hári-Kovács, Attila Vass, Péter Lovas, Viola Vince, Mihály Végh, Edit Tóth-Molnár
• Journal: Case reports in ophthalmology (Case Rep Ophthalmol) 2022 Jan-Apr Vol. 13 Issue 1 Pg. 210-214 ISSN: 1663-2699 [Print] Switzerland
• PMID: 35611007 (Publication Type: Case Reports)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2022 by S. Karger AG, Basel.