Doctors have advised that patients with specific hormone-related conditions should be informed of the potential risk of falling ill after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine, following two hospitalisations involving life-threatening complications.
An elderly woman in her 80s and a man in his 70s presented at an emergency department with symptoms including dizziness, vomiting, fatigue, and confusion after receiving a Covid-19 vaccination, reports Breaking News.
Both individuals had a history of Addison’s disease, an endocrine disorder in which the adrenal glands fail to produce sufficient amounts of the hormones cortisol and aldosterone.
Medical staff determined that both patients were experiencing adrenal crisis — a severe and life-threatening emergency linked to Addison’s disease — and treated them with intravenous fluids and steroids, reports Breaking News.
The findings were detailed in a case report by doctors from St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin and Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar, published in the most recent edition of the Irish Medical Journal.
The report noted that other instances had been documented where Covid-19 vaccination triggered adrenal crises in patients reliant on long-term steroid replacement therapy, reports Breaking News.
The authors stressed that vaccination remains strongly recommended for high-risk patients, such as those with Addison’s disease or adrenal insufficiency.
However, they pointed out that there are currently no official guidelines advising increased steroid doses around the time of vaccination for these individuals, reports Breaking News.
“Patients who have been previously treated for post-vaccination adrenal crisis may be at risk of adrenal crisis with future vaccinations and adrenal crisis may affect those with either primary or secondary adrenal insufficiency,” the doctors wrote, reports Breaking News.
They added that steroid-dependent patients, including those with Addison’s disease, should be made aware that vaccination could make them feel unwell. Raising awareness of this risk, they said, could help sustain public confidence in vaccination programmes, reports Breaking News.
The woman in her 80s began to feel sick around 12 hours after receiving her Covid-19 shot. She was treated with intravenous steroids and fluids and discharged the following day.
The man in his 70s, who was also steroid-dependent and had a history of adrenal insufficiency, was discharged after two days. It was the third time he had felt unwell after vaccination and required intravenous steroids on each occasion, reports Breaking News.
“For other steroid-dependent patients, it may be beneficial to alert them to the possibility that they may become unwell following vaccination, educate them on sick day rules, and to make them aware of when to seek medical attention,” the authors concluded, reports Breaking News.
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