Background
Clinical trials of the BNT162b2 vaccine, revealed efficacy and safety. We report six cases of myocarditis, which occurred shortly after BNT162b2 vaccination.
Methods
Patients were identified upon presentation to the emergency department with symptoms of chest pain/discomfort. In all study patients, we excluded past and current COVID-19. Routine clinical and laboratory investigations for common etiologies of myocarditis were performed. Laboratory tests also included troponin and C- reactive protein levels.The diagnosis of myocarditis was established after cardiac MRI.
Findings
Five patients presented after the second and one after the first dose of the vaccine. All patients were males with a median age of 23 years. Myocarditis was diagnosed in all patients.there was no evidence of COVID-19 infection. Laboratory assays excluded concomitant infection; autoimmune disorder was considered unlikely. All patients responded to the BNT162b2 vaccine. The clinical course was mild in all six patients.
Interpretation
Our report of myocarditis after BNT162b2 vaccination may be possibly considered as an adverse reaction following immunization. We believe our information should be interpreted with caution and further surveillance is warranted.
Objective: Vestibulitis is currently diagnosed based only on clinical criteria. To achieve histopathological diagnostic criteria, we carried out a computerized image analysis method. Methods: Vestibular tissues removed from 40 women with severe vestibulitis were immunostained for mast cell count and degranulation by C-kit and mast cell tryptase, respectively. Vestibular nerve cells total area was evaluated after S-100 stain. Controls were 7 women aged 18–48. The images were converted to a digital signal, and analyzed using Image Proplus V4 software. Results: We found a significant increase in inflammatory infiltrate, number of mast cells and degranulated mast cells in vestibulitis compared to normal controls. The inflammatory cells were localized around the superficial minor vestibular glands. The total nerve fiber area was ten times higher in vestibulitis patients than in controls. A significant positive correlation was found between the total nerve fiber area and the number of mast cells in the vestibulitis group of patients. Conclusion: We documented two diagnostic histopathological criteria for vestibulitis: (1) the presence of eight or more mast cells per 10 × 10 microscopic field, and (2) the total calculated area of the nerve fibers is ten times higher than expected. These findings re-establish the inflammatory nature of the vestibulitis. It is speculated that the trigger for the local outburst of nerve fibers could be related to the activation of the mast cells by a topical agent.
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