Optic Neuritis After SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination

Asaf Shemer; Assaf Greenbaum; Amit Toledano; Roy Biron; Biana Dubinsky-Pertzov; Lior Or

doi:10.1097/WNO.0000000000001811

Optic Neuritis After SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination

J Neuroophthalmol. 2023 Mar 1;43(1):29-33. doi: 10.1097/WNO.0000000000001811. Epub 2023 Jan 4.

Authors

Asaf Shemer¹, Assaf Greenbaum, Amit Toledano, Roy Biron, Biana Dubinsky-Pertzov, Lior Or

Affiliation

¹ Department of Ophthalmology (AS, AG, AT, RB, BD-P, LO), Shamir Medical Center (formerly Assaf-Harofeh), Tzrifin, Israel; and Sackler Faculty of Medicine (AS, AG, AT, RB, BD-P, LO), Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Abstract

Background: To describe recent cases of optic neuritis in patients who received a vaccine for COVID-19.

Methods: Retrospective case series of patients diagnosed with optic neuritis after a recent COVID-19 vaccination with BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech), in one university-affiliated tertiary hospital, from January 2021 to June 2021. Data were obtained from medical charts.

Results: We describe 7 patients who developed optic neuritis after immunization with the BNT162b2 vaccine.

Conclusions: A causal relationship cannot be deduced, and the importance of COVID-19 vaccination is not challenged. However, the authors encourage a prospective monitoring and reporting system for all patients receiving COVID-19 vaccines, to further assess the spectrum of adverse events in large databases.

MeSH terms

BNT162 Vaccine
COVID-19 Vaccines* / adverse effects
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Humans
Optic Neuritis* / diagnosis
Optic Neuritis* / etiology
Prospective Studies
Retrospective Studies
SARS-CoV-2
Vaccination / adverse effects

Substances

BNT162 Vaccine
COVID-19 Vaccines