New Onset Autoimmune Diseases after the Sputnik Vaccine

Abstract

The vertiginous advance for identifying the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 allowed the development of a vaccine including mRNA-based vaccines, inactivated viruses, protein subunits, and adenoviral vaccines such as Sputnik. This study aims to report on autoimmune disease manifestations that occurred following COVID-19 Sputnik vaccination. Patients and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on patients with new-onset autoimmune diseases induced by a post-COVID-19 vaccine between March 2021 and December 2022, in two referral hospitals in Mexico City and Argentina. The study evaluated patients who received the Sputnik vaccine and developed recent-onset autoimmune diseases. Results: Twenty-eight patients developed recent-onset autoimmune diseases after Sputnik vaccine. The median age was 56.9 ± 21.7 years, with 14 females and 14 males. The autoimmune diseases observed were neurological in 13 patients (46%), hematological autoimmune manifestations occurred in 12 patients (42%), with thrombotic disease observed in 10 patients (28%), and autoimmune hemolytic anemia in two patients (7.1%). Rheumatological disorders were present in two patients (7.1%), and endocrine disorders in one patient (3.5%). Principio del formulario Conclusion: Although the COVID-19 Sputnik vaccine is generally safe, it can lead to adverse effects. Thrombosis and Guillain-Barre were the most frequent manifestations observed in our group of patients.

Keywords: Autoimmune/Inflammatory Syndrome Induced by Adjuvants (ASIA); COVID-19 vaccines; adverse events; sputnik vaccines; systemic autoimmune diseases.

Figure 1

An intense reaction is observed in the patient’s cerebrospinal fluid autoIgGs against proteins located in the muscle sarcolemma, corresponding to aquaporins (green dots; white arrow) and red/yellow dots representing muscle cell nuclei.

Figure 2

(A) MRI in FLAIR, axial plane: a hyperintense lesion is observed in the parieto-occipital region with an ovoid shape of 6 mm, in relation to a single lesion with demyelinating characteristics in a patient with Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD). (B) MRI is observed in the T2-weighted cervical spine, sagittal plane: multifocal lesion with a tendency to an extensive longitudinal pattern, with involvement of segments C2, C3, C4, and C7, in relation to myelitis with inflammatory characteristics due to NMOSD of previous patients with a brain lesion. (C) Sagittal T2 MRI: cervical and thoracic spine that shows continuous signal hyperintensity that involves the spinal cord from cervical to T3–T4 (arrows) in another patient with NMOSD.