258 CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 19 VACCINATION-RELATED PERICARDITIS: A SINGLE TERTIARY CENTER EXPERIENCE


 
 
 Vaccination represents a cornerstone of prevention in the COVID-19 pandemic. Rare adverse events including acute pericarditis and myopericarditis have been reported.
 
 
 
 All consecutive patients referred to our referral center for pericardial diseases following COVID-19 vaccination from 1st April 2021 to 15th April 2022 were included. Acute pericarditis and myopericarditis were diagnosed according to ESC guidelines. Patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were excluded from the study.
 
 
 
 Twenty-four patients (79% males) aged 39.7 ± 19.8 years were referred to our center with pericarditis after receiving COVID-19 vaccination. 13 (54%) patients were diagnosed with myopericarditis. The mean time between vaccination and symptoms onset was 7.0 ± 4.9 days and the most frequent symptom was pericarditic chest pain (83%). Respectively, 50% and 33% of patients presented after the second and the third dose of the vaccine. Almost all patients were treated with both nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and colchicine. Five patients (21%) experienced a recurrence of pericarditis. No patient died or developed constrictive pericarditis. Mean follow-up was 8.0 ± 3.2 months.
 
 
 
 COVID-19 vaccine-related pericarditis typically manifest with mild clinical signs, in young males, a few days after the second or third vaccine dose and are commonly characterized by a rapid complete recovery. Despite these rare side effects, the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination clearly outweigh the limited risk of pericarditis and myocarditis, and vaccination is strongly recommended to prevent COVID-19 infection, transmission and related complications.
