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. 2024 Dec 31;20(1):2334084.
doi: 10.1080/21645515.2024.2334084. Epub 2024 Apr 2.

Polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis following COVID-19 vaccination: Results from a nationwide survey

Pierre-André Jarrot  1   2 , Adrien Mirouse  3   4   5 , Sébastien Ottaviani  6 , Simon Cadiou  7 , Jean-Hugues Salmon  8 , Eric Liozon  9 , Simon Parreau  9 , Martin Michaud  10 , Benjamin Terrier  11 , Pierre-Edouard Gavand  12 , Ludovic Trefond  13 , Virginie Lavoiepierre  1 , Jeremy Keraen  14 , Daniel Rekassa  15 , Bastien Bouldoires  16 , Thierry Weitten  17 , Damien Roche  18 , Antoine Poulet  19 , Caroline Charpin  18 , Vincent Grobost  20 , Marion Hermet  21 , Magali Pallure  22 , Chloe Wackenheim  23 , Ludovic Karkowski  24 , Pierre Grumet  17 , Thomas Rogier  25 , Nabil Belkefi  26 , Vincent Pestre  27 , Emilie Broquet  28 , Amélie Leurs  29 , Sophie Gautier  30 , Valérie Gras  31 , Pierre Gilet  32 , Jan Holubar  33 , Nadia Sivova  34 , Nicolas Schleinitz  35 , Jean-Marc Durand  35 , Brice Castel  36 , Alexandre Petrier  37 , Robin Arcani  38 , Baptiste Gramont  39 , Philippe Guilpain  40 , Hubert Lepidi  41 , Pierre-Jean Weiller  42 , Joelle Micallef  43 , David Saadoun  3   4   5 , Gilles Kaplanski  1   2
Affiliations

Polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis following COVID-19 vaccination: Results from a nationwide survey

Pierre-André Jarrot et al. Hum Vaccin Immunother. .

Abstract

We conducted a national in-depth analysis including pharmacovigilance reports and clinical study to assess the reporting rate (RR) and to determine the clinical profile of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and giant cell arteritis (GCA) in COVID-19-vaccinated individuals. First, based on the French pharmacovigilance database, we estimated the RR of PMR and GCA cases in individuals aged over 50 who developed their initial symptoms within one month of receiving the BNT162b2 mRNA, mRNA-1273, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, and Ad26.COV2.S vaccines. We then conducted a nationwide survey to gather clinical profiles, therapeutic management, and follow-up data from individuals registered in the pharmacovigilance study. A total of 70 854 684 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered to 25 260 485 adults, among which, 179 cases of PMR (RR 7. 1 cases/1 000 000 persons) and 54 cases of GCA (RR 2. 1 cases/1 000 000 persons) have been reported. The nationwide survey allowed the characterization of 60 PMR and 35 GCA cases. Median time to the onset of first symptoms was 10 (range 2-30) and 7 (range 2-25) days for PMR and GCA, respectively. Phenotype, GCA-related ischemic complications and -large vessel vasculitis as well as therapeutic management and follow-up seemed similar according to the number of vaccine shots received and when compared to the literature data of unvaccinated population. Although rare, the short time between immunization and the onset of first symptoms of PMR and GCA suggests a temporal association. Physician should be aware of this potential vaccine-related phenomenon.

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccination; Polymyalgia rheumatica; clinical study; giant cell arteritis; pharmacovigilance.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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