Background: Nearly 10 billion doses of the various messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and viral vector vaccines against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been administered worldwide. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) have been overwhelmingly mild to moderate in nature. Rare side effects have included myocarditis/pericarditis, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), and death. However, vaccine-related ADR data are still being collected using a variety of reporting systems. Purpose: We will describe a case of suspected mRNA coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) booster–related rhabdomyolysis in a woman who developed signs and symptoms 10 days after administration of the vaccine dose. With a Naranjo ADR probability score of 4, the vaccine was deemed to be a possible cause of our patient’s rhabdomyolysis. Methods: A search of the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) mined in November 2021 revealed 386 reported cases of COVID-19 vaccine–related rhabdomyolysis. However, system limitations make the utility of the information problematic. Conclusions: It is vitally important that clinicians, scientists, and patients are aware of rhabdomyolysis as a potential side effect of vaccination. Suspected vaccine-related ADRs should be promptly and accurately reported via VAERS or other surveillance systems to support the ongoing effort to ensure vaccine safety.

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Systemic air embolism occurred in a patient during general anaesthesia, with positive pressure ventilation, following induction of artificial pneumothorax to assist in the diagnosis of a mediastinal mass. A sudden change in vital signs together with neurological abnormalities suggested involvement of both coronary and cerebral arteries. A trace of blood was noticed in the syringe which the surgeon had used to create the artificial pneumothorax. The patient was treated with hyperbaric oxygen and recovered satisfactorily, despite a 10-h interval between the air embolus and the institution of definitive therapy.

Diabetes of the exocrine pancreas, also known as type 3c diabetes, is caused by a variety of underlying mechanisms, most commonly chronic pancreatitis. Type 3c diabetes leads to chronic inflammation of the pancreas and results in frequent episodes of hypo- or hyper-glycemia, and patients are commonly misdiagnosed as having type 2 diabetes. We report the case of a 52-year-old man from rural West Virginia (WV) who presented with a five-year history of chronic abdominal pain and recurrent pancreatitis. His physical examination, laboratory, and radiologic studies revealed an acute pancreatitis flare, and his elevated serum glucose level indicated new-onset diabetes, leading to a diagnosis of type 3c diabetes. Given the disproportionate rate of diabetes in WV, it is critical for healthcare providers to learn to recognize patients with diabetes with underlying pancreatic disease and to treat those patients appropriately.

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