Case Series: Acute Hemorrhagic Encephalomyelitis After SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination
Mihai Ancău, Friederike Liesche‐Starnecker, Johanna Niederschweiberer, Sandro M. Krieg, Claus Zimmer, Charlotte Lingg, Daniela Kumpfmüller, Benno Ikenberg, Markus Ploner, Bernhard Hemmer, Silke Wunderlich, Mark Mühlau, Benjamin Knier
Abstract
We present three cases fulfilling diagnostic criteria of hemorrhagic variants of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (acute hemorrhagic encephalomyelitis, AHEM) occurring within 9 days after the first shot of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. AHEM was diagnosed using magnetic resonance imaging, cerebrospinal fluid analysis and brain biopsy in one case. The close temporal association with the vaccination, the immune-related nature of the disease as well as the lack of other canonical precipitating factors suggested that AHEM was a vaccine-related adverse effect. We believe that AHEM might reflect a novel COVID-19 vaccine-related adverse event for which physicians should be vigilant and sensitized.