Hypersensitivity Reaction of Tongue: Oral Adverse Effect of COVID-19 Vaccine: A Case Report

Abstract

Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) has introduced the new normal in this 21st century. This viral has caused a great infection storm in the recent past affecting more than half of the world population. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes various symptoms from mild to severe. Mortality rate has been reported to be low, mostly associated with pre-existing medical history. Literature also states that mortality was high among those with poor immune surveillance. Based on the duration of symptoms, it has been classified into long COVID-19 and short COVID-19 to combat the outcome of the disease many vaccines were invented worldwide by various pharmaceutical companies and they helped a lot in controlling the severity of the disease. The vaccines effectively reduced the incidence of long COVID-19 and serious symptoms, thereby, reducing the death rate. Although the vaccines were very effective in control of serious complications of the infection, few patients had certain adverse reactions to the vaccines of both types’ whole virus and viral-vector based vaccine. In the present case report, authors would like to document the delayed hypersensitivity reaction in the tongue as a potential Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) postvaccination for SARS-CoV-2 infection in a 48-year-old female patient without any previous history of medical illness or drug allergy. The ADR was effectively controlled with systemic steroids and the symptoms were effectively controlled within a period of few months.

Keywords

• coronavirus disease-2019
• lichenoid reaction
• medication induced pigmentation
• severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2