A Case of Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis Following COVID-19 Vaccination

Abstract

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rate has recently risen, various cutaneous adverse events have been reported. We report on a 75-year-old woman who developed leukocytoclastic vasculitis after the first dose of BNT162b2 (Pfizer, United States of America) vaccine. The cause of leukocytoclastic vasculitis can be idiopathic or secondary to medications, infections, connective tissue disor-ders, and malignancy. Developing and exacerbation of leukocytoclastic vasculitis has been reported following vaccinations such as influenza, hepatitis B virus, and bacil-lus Calmette-Guerin vaccine. The pathogenesis might involve hyperactivation of the immune system secondary to cross-reactivity and molecular mimicry between the virus and self-antigens. As it is important to consider COVID-19 vaccine as a cause of leukocytoclastic vasculitis, we report a case of leukocytoclastic vasculitis following COVID-19 vaccination.