A case of fatal multi-organ inflammation following COVID-19 vaccination
A 14-year-old Japanese girl died unexpectedly 2 days after receiving the third dose of the BNT1262b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Autopsy findings showed congestive edema of the lungs, T-cell lymphocytic and macrophage infiltration in the lungs, pericardium, and myocardium of the left atria and left ventricle, liver, kidneys, stomach, duodenum, bladder, and diaphragm. Since there was no preceding infection, allergy, or drug toxicity exposure, the patient was diagnosed with post-vaccination pneumonia, myopericarditis, hepatitis, nephritis, gastroenteritis, cystitis, and myositis.
2.1. Autopsy findings
The deceased patient was 154 cm tall and weighed 43 kg. The patient’s body showed normal development and nutrition relative to her age. No superficial injuries were observed, except for injection marks from emergency medical treatment.
A COVID-19 antigen quantification test performed using a nasopharyngeal swab taken before autopsy yielded negative results.The serum collected at autopsy tested negative for adenovirus, cytomegalovirus, influenza virus (A, B), respiratory syncytial virus, Epstein-Barr virus, enterovirus (70, 71), parvovirus, and human immunodeficiency virus. Quantitative testing for the COVID-19 antigen using nasopharyngeal swabs yielded negative results.
The results of polymerase chain reaction tests performed for COVID-19 using swabs from the lung, heart, liver, kidney, stomach, duodenum, diaphragm, and cerebrum after formalin fixation were also negative. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1344622323000548