Adnan Deniz, Defne Alikılıç, Merve Öztürk, Ömer Karaca, Mesut Güngör, Bülent Kara

Objective: We present a 15-year-old girl who developed opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia syndrome (OMS)within 24 hoursafter the injection of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.

Method: We retrospectively analyzed the patient’s data from the database of Kocaeli University Medical Faculty Hospital.

Results: A15-year-old girl presented with complaints of fever, malaise, headache, subjective vertigo and fainting. On physical examination, she had a fever of 38°C, ataxia, and opsoclonus. She had a history of two COVID-19 infections, the first one was 15 months and the second one 3 months ago,respectively. COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (Pfizer‐BioNTech) was administered a day before her hospitalization. Whole blood count and serum biochemistry were normal. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 58 mm/h. Brain MRI, EEG and serologic tests against autoimmune encephalitis were normal. Tumor screening was negative.There was no response to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy, so rituximab was ordered.

Conclusions: Vaccines against viruses rarely cause neurological abnormalities. Several neurologic adverse-effects also have been reported after COVID-19 vaccines, such as facial palsy, Guillain-Barre syndrome or transverse myelitis. The presented case is the first case diagnosed as opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia syndrome due to COVID-19 vaccination.
Keywords: covid-19, opsoclonus, vaccine

Adnan Deniz
Kocaeli University
Turkey

Defne Alikılıç
Kocaeli University
Turkey

Merve Öztürk
Kocaeli University
Turkey

Ömer Karaca
Kocaeli University
Turkey

Mesut Güngör
Kocaeli University
Turkey

Bülent Kara
Kocaeli University
Turke