A Fatal Case of Acute Necrotizing Pancreatitis Following a COVID-19 Vaccine

Abstract

Several adverse effects have been reported following the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 infection with acute pancreatitis being one of those. However, a direct relationship between the vaccine and the occurrence of acute pancreatitis has not been confirmed. Hereby, a case of an acute necrotizing pancreatitis resulting in fatal outcome following the administration of the COVID-19 BioNTech Pfizer vaccine is presented. A 70-year-old male presented with abdominal pain 4 days after receiving his fifth dose of the COVID-19 BioNTech Pfizer vaccine. Laboratory examination showed lipase levels of 2000 U/L. A CT scan was performed and showed necrotizing pancreatitis. After detailed evaluation, no etiological cause of pancreatitis could be found in this patient. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit. After a disease course of ~6 weeks, the patient died due to multiorgan failure. This case presentation takes into account previously reported cases of acute pancreatitis following COVID-19 vaccination. To our knowledge, this is the first case of acute pancreatitis with fatal ending following a COVID-19 vaccination. This highlights the importance of thorough evaluation of patients presenting with abdominal pain following the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine.