Corneal Allograft Endothelial Rejection after Sinopharm COVID-19 Vaccination; Report of Six Cases.

AIM

To report the clinical characteristics of six patients with corneal allograft endothelial rejection after COVID-19 vaccination with Sinopharm and to review the literature.

METHODS

This is a prospective case series describing corneal allograft rejection among subjects having received Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV) vaccine, coming to cornea clinic at a university-based hospital (Rassoul Akram Hospital, Tehran, Iran) from September 2021 to March 2022 for regular follow-up examinations. Data on demographics, vaccination (based on vaccine card), and graft condition (based on recent examination and previous medical documents) were recorded.

RESULTS

Out of 54 eyes (46 patients), 6 eyes (6 patients) had corneal allograft endothelial rejection after 3 to 117 days, post-vaccination. Three out of six rejections occurred within two weeks following vaccination. All of them were male with the mean age of 53.00 ± 19.66 years. The graft type of all patients was penetrating keratoplasty (PKP). The adverse event developed on average at 40.67 ± 34.33 months after surgery. Four patients were under maintenance treatment by topical steroid at the time of vaccination. One also received systemic immunomodulatory medication. Four grafts ended up with partial or complete graft failure. One case had received two doses of vaccine before undergoing the second corneal graft transplantation.

CONCLUSION

COVID-19 vaccination with Sinopharm may trigger corneal allograft endothelial rejection even in individuals with low-risk graft and under maintenance topical and/or systemic immunomodulatory medications.