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. 2023 Jan 10:9:1117176.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.1117176. eCollection 2022.

Autoimmune blistering skin diseases triggered by COVID-19 vaccinations: An Australian case series

Timothy L Cowan  1   2 , Cheng Huang  1   2 , Dédée F Murrell  1   2
Affiliations

Autoimmune blistering skin diseases triggered by COVID-19 vaccinations: An Australian case series

Timothy L Cowan et al. Front Med (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Autoimmune blistering skin diseases (AIBD) can be induced or flared by a multitude of sources, however, there have been some reports suggesting that this occurrence is due to COVID-19 vaccinations. At a single academic blistering disease centre in Sydney, Australia, a retrospective review was conducted, identifying 59 patients with AIBD seen between February 2021 and November 2022. Secondary to recent COVID-19 vaccination, four patients had induction of bullous pemphigoid, three patients had a flare of pre-existing bullous pemphigoid, one patient had induction of pemphigus, and two patients had a flare of pre-existing pemphigus vulgaris. This adds to our understanding of the role of vaccinations in the activity of AIBD.

Keywords: COVID-19; autoimmune blistering; flare; pemphigoid; pemphigus; vaccination.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
(A) Severe lower limb necrotic ulceration secondary to IgA vasculitis from severe bullous pemphigoid induced by a COVID-19 vaccination with (B) extensive activity and damage scores.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Severe pemphigus vulgaris induced by a COVID-19 vaccination with extensive onycholysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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