Leucocytoclastic Vasculitis Following Coronavirus Vaccine: A Case Report

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is an unprecedented situation. Mass vaccination is a considered a promising solution to combat this global health crisis. Different vaccine have used to control transmission of the disease. Some complications of this vaccine were reported including rare cases of vasculitis. We report a case of leucocytoclastic vasculitis following BNT162b2 corona virus vaccine. Case Presentation: A 42 year old man with no medical history or drug intake presented 3 days after the third dose of BNT162b2 vaccine an infiltrated purpura at the lower extremities, fever, asthenia and myalgia. At physical examination, multiple palpable indurated purpuric papules were present only on the lower extremities. Laboratory tests were normal. The skin biopsy revealed leucocytoclastic vasculitis. The direct immunofluorescence staining detected only fibrinogen deposition. Conclusion: Leucocytoclastic vasculitis is an exceptional vaccine side effect. The resemblance of the vaccine-induced spike proteins with human components is highly likely to produce pathological autoantibodies and vaccine-induced autoimmunity through molecular mimicry.