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. 2022 May 15:436:120231.
doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2022.120231. Epub 2022 Mar 16.

Inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy after the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine may follow a chronic course

Aaron de Souza  1 , Wai M Oo  2 , Pradeep Giri  2
Affiliations

Inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy after the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine may follow a chronic course

Aaron de Souza et al. J Neurol Sci. .

Abstract

Background: Rare autoimmune neurological events have been reported during the ongoing global drive for mass vaccination as a means of controlling the Covid-19 pandemic. Guillain-Barré syndrome, an acute inflammatory neuropathy well recognised as a rare complication of influenza vaccination, has been reported to follow administration of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AstraZeneca) vaccine.

Methods: We report four patients with inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy after vaccination in whom a relapsing or progressive course indicated the development of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP).

Conclusions: Awareness of this complication and distinction from Guillain-Barré syndrome enables the timely institution of maintenance immunomodulatory treatment. Our report also highlights the likely relationship between vaccination and the subsequent development of CIDP, but definitive demonstration of a causal link needs larger studies.

Keywords: AstraZeneca vaccine; CIDP; Covid-19; Guillain-Barré syndrome; Inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Pre- and post-contrast T1-weighted MR images of the lumbosacral spine of patient 3 (A,B) and patient 2 (C) showing contrast enhancement over the cauda equina and surface of the lower dorsal spinal cord (arrows). The asterisk denotes enhancement at the site of recent lumbar puncture.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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