An Unusual Case Of Hemorrhagic Pleuropericarditis After COVID-19 Vaccination

Abstract

As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines are being increasingly administered worldwide, subsequent side effects, such as myocarditis, pericarditis, and myopericarditis, are becoming increasingly more common. Our case describes a 64-year-old male who developed chest pain and shortness of breath one week after receiving the Moderna (Cambridge, Massachusetts) COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. He was found to have a large, left-sided pleural effusion and a small pericardial effusion. The patient underwent thoracentesis and video-assisted thoracoscopic procedure with chest tube placement, which drained bloody pleural and pericardial fluid. He was treated with a course of colchicine. Subsequent imaging revealed the resolution of pericardial and pleural effusions, along with the resolution of symptoms.