A case of acute necrotising pancreatitis following the second dose of Pfizer‐BioNTech COVID‐19 mRNA vaccine

Abstract

there have been about 400 000 000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine administered worldwide.At this time, 176 cases of pancreatitis have been reported in pharmacovigilance reports submitted to the WHO. 1 No epidemiological link between the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and pancreatitis has been reported. We report a case of acute necrotising pancreatitis following the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. This case has been reported to the New Zealand Pharmacovigilance Centre and the patient has consented to publication of the case report.A 43-year-old, NZ European male was diagnosed with acute necrotising pancreatitis 10 h following the administration of his second Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. He has a background of atopy with seasonal rhinitis, eczema, and asthma, all of which are "mild." He takes no regular medications and takes as needed melatonin 2 mg nocte, cetirizine 10 mg for hay fever, and betamethasone and emollient cream for dermatitis. He has no family history of note and works in a senior professional role. He drinks six standard units of alcohol per week, has never been a tobacco smoker, and does not use recreational drugs-and his employer undertakes regular drug testing.He had a previous episode of pancreatitis in 2011, precipitated by high alcohol intake during a holiday abroad. He is otherwise previously well. There is no family history of note, his father was a smoker and died of lung cancer in his 60s, his mother is well, and he has two siblings and three children all of whom are well. He is not aware of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine should be examined to see if a consistent pattern is present.

Acute pancreatitis soon after COVID-19 vaccination

“…Recently, a case of acute pancreatitis after the second dose of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was also reported. [8] However, this patient had consumed alcohol just before the onset of pancreatitis. Thus, we wonder whether the alcohol consumption rather than administration of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine is the event associated with the development of acute pancreatitis in the report of Walter et al Although the severity is unknown, the vaccine analysis print based on all spontaneous reports received for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine between December 9, 2020 and September 22, 2021 contains 330,983 reports of side effects, including 1 case of obstructive pancreatitis, 12 cases of pancreatitis, 12 cases of acute pancreatitis, and 1 case of necrotizing pancreatitis.…”

“…[1,5] Recently, although many infrequent side effects have also been reported, only a few cases of acute pancreatitis have been reported. [6][7][8] Here, we report a rare case of acute pancreatitis that developed shortly after the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (Comirnaty).…”

BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Does Not Impact the Honeymoon Phase in Type 1 Diabetes: A Case Report

“…Samuel et al [ 7 ] hypothesized that ViHG may be caused by pancreatic injury and/or acute pancreatitis secondary to reduced pancreatic blood flow and increased cellular oxidative stress. According to this hypothesis, case reports of pancreatic injury/acute pancreatitis following the administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine have been described [ 40 , 41 , 42 ]. It is also plausible that the transient alteration in blood glucose levels is caused by vaccine-induced inflammation and immune response.…”

Current Evidence in SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccines and Post-Vaccination Adverse Reports: Knowns and Unknowns

“…A 43-year-old man was diagnosed with acute necrotizing pancreatitis 10 h after his second BNT162b2 vaccination, and the man had a background of atopy with mild seasonal rhinitis, eczema and asthma, as well as a previous pancreatitis episode 10 years ago [ 100 ]. The VigiBase also records more than 150 pancreatitis post-vaccination reports, and this event was also reported as self-resolving uncomplicated acute pancreatitis [ 101 ].…”