Development of Myocarditis and Pericarditis After COVID-19 Vaccination in Adult Population: A Systematic Review

Objectives: A clear temporal relationship between myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination has led to the belief that the vaccine may act as a trigger for these cardiologic complications. The aim of this systematic review is to explore the incidence, clinical presentation, management, and association between them.

Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search on Cochrane, MEDLINE, and EMBASE as per guidelines of PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews). A total of 41 case reports and case series describing 97 patients, and 5 original articles describing 15,585,309 participants were selected as part of this review.

Results: Of the 97 reported cases describing vaccine-associated myocarditis/pericarditis, 67 (69%) patients received Pfizer-BioNTech and 25 (25.7%) received Moderna. The mean onset of symptoms after vaccine administration was 3.8 ± 4.5 days with three-quarters developing symptoms after the second dose. Chest pain (n = 88, 90%) and fever (n = 33, 34%) were the most common presenting complaints. Out of 97, 80 (82.5%) patients recovered while 4 (4.1%) patients expired. The pooled incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis extrapolated from original studies is 0.001% and 0.0004%, respectively. In the original studies, nearly all the cases of myocarditis and pericarditis were mild. Chest pain and fever were the most common presenting symptoms.

Conclusion: Myocarditis and pericarditis after the COVID-19 vaccine have been reported more in young adult males and are most likely to occur after the second dose of mRNA vaccines. The presentation is mild and the majority of the patients recover either completely or partially.