Disseminated cutaneous herpes simplex infection after COVID-19 vaccination in a rheumatoid arthritis patient: a case report and review

Submitted: 16 March 2022
Accepted: 7 May 2022
Published: 13 September 2022
Abstract Views: 1483
PDF: 790
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Authors

Since COVID-19 vaccination started in December 2020, different side effects were reported. This case report describes the possibility of developing disseminated herpes simplex infection after COVID-19 vaccine in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. In this case report, we describe a 63-year-old Iranian female. She was a known case of seronegative rheumatoid arthritis and presented with generalized papulo-pustular itchy and painful skin lesions which appeared about seven days after the second dose of Sinopharm BIBP COVID-19 vaccine (BIBP-CorV). A biopsy of the skin lesions revealed acantholysis, neutrophils, and enlarged keratinocytes with eosinophilic intra-nuclear inclusions. Findings were consistent with herpes simplex infection. She was successfully treated by acyclovir. Disseminated cutaneous herpes simplex infection may have been triggered by COVID-19 vaccination. Reactivation of herpes virus after COVID-19 vaccines was reported in both rheumatic patients and other individuals. Whether having an underlying autoimmune inflammatory disorder could be an additional risk factor is still unknown.

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Citations

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How to Cite

Mohamadzadeh, D., Assar, S., Pournazari, M., Soufivand, P., & Danaei, S. (2022). Disseminated cutaneous herpes simplex infection after COVID-19 vaccination in a rheumatoid arthritis patient: a case report and review. Reumatismo, 74(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2022.1489

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