Incidence Of Graft Rejection In Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty Following Covid-19 Messenger Rna Vaccination
Published 2023 - 41st Congress of the ESCRS
Reference: FP10.06 | Type: Free paper | DOI: 10.82333/hx3q-1189
Authors: Takahiko Hayashi* 1 , Ami Igarashi 1 , Toshiki Shimizu 1 , Atsuyuki Ishida 2 , Kentaro Yuda 2 , Hiroyuki Nakashizuka 3 , Kenji Yuda 2 , Akira Kobayashi 4 , Satoru Yamagami 1
1Ophthalmology,Nihon university,Tokyo,Japan, 2Ophthalmology,Kikuna Yuda Eye Clinic,Yokohama,Japan, 3Ophthalmology,Nihon University Hospital,Tokyo,Japan, 4Ophthalmology,Kanazawa University,Kanazawa,Japan
Purpose
To investigate the Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) rejection rate following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination.
Setting
Multicenter, retrospective cohort study
Methods
A total of 198 patients who underwent DMEK between January 2006 and December 2020 were divided into two cohorts: consecutive patients who received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccination in 2021 (vaccination started from February 2021 in Japan) and non-vaccinated patients (control cohort). Patients who had a postoperative observation period of less than 90 days were excluded. The main outcome measurement is the incidence of graft rejection. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used for comparisons with the non-COVID-19 vaccination group.
Results
Six rejection episodes were observed in 198 patients (124 non-vaccinated and 74 vaccinated patients), with one occurring in the non-vaccinated group and five in the vaccinated group. In the univariate model, only before and after vaccination had a significant effect on rejection episodes (p=0.003). The effect of vaccination was also statistically significant (p=0.004) after adjusting for covariates.
Conclusions
This study suggests a significantly higher rejection rate after COVID-19 vaccination in patients who underwent DMEK. Patients should be warned of the rejection risk and its typical symptoms before receiving the COVID-19 vaccination.