Acute Abducens Nerve Palsy with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis-like Presentation Following COVID-19 Vaccination

We report two adult cases of abducens nerve palsy presenting immediately (within weeks) after they received the first dose of Covishield vaccination. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain obtained after the onset of diplopia demonstrated demyelinating changes. The patients had associated systemic symptoms. Post-vaccination demyelination typically known as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) associated with several vaccines is more common in children. Although the mechanism of the nerve palsy remains unclear, it is suspected to be related to the post-vaccine neuroinflammatory syndrome. Cranial nerve palsies and ADEM-like presentations may represent part of the neurologic spectrum following COVID-vaccination in adults, and ophthalmologists should be aware of these sequelae. Although cases of sixth nerve palsy following COVID vaccination are already reported, associated MRI changes have not been reported from India.