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Case Reports
. 2022 Jul;28(7):975-977.
doi: 10.1016/j.jiac.2022.02.009. Epub 2022 Feb 17.

A case of encephalitis following COVID-19 vaccine

Yuya Kobayashi  1 , Seishu Karasawa  2 , Nobuhiko Ohashi  2 , Kanji Yamamoto  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

A case of encephalitis following COVID-19 vaccine

Yuya Kobayashi et al. J Infect Chemother. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

We describe the first case of encephalitis following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination. Our patient was a 46-year-old Japanese woman who presented with acute onset diplopia. Subsequent magnetic resonance imaging revealed brain stem encephalitis that was rapidly responsive to high dosage steroid therapy and completely improved. Although the occurrence of encephalitis after vaccination could have just been a casual temporal association, her symptoms were temporally correlated with two vaccinations. Our case suggests caution and indicates treatment and prognosis, despite no evidence of a causal relationship. Nonetheless, this report emphasizes the enormous benefits of vaccination, which should not be undermined.

Keywords: COVID-19; Encephalitis; SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
T2-wighted magnetic resonance imaging revealing brain stem encephalitis. Panels A, B, C, and D indicate 0, 5, 17, and 31 days after methylprednisolone medication, respectively. The lesion was located in the dorsal portion of the pons, which based on which could explain the eye-movement disorder of the patient could be explained. The border of the lesion was unclear and crossed the midline. The possibility of cerebrovascular diseases, such as cerebral infarction, was ruled out because the lesion did not correspond to the vascular dominant region. The lesions showed improved in course.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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