Acute pancreatitis occurring after COVID-19 vaccine: a case report and literature review

Vaccines are uncommon causes of pancreatitis, and only a few case reports have described COVID-19 vaccine-related pancreatitis.

A 45-year-old male patient applied to the emergency department due to having serious abdominal pain. Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the last dose was administered 1 week ago. One week after vaccination, he experienced abdominal pain. Laboratory tests demonstrated elevated C-reactive protein, amylase, and lipase levels, and Ig G4 levels were normal. Abdominal computer tomography (CT) displayed acute edematous pancreatitis and peripancreatic inflammatory changes. The patient was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis due to the vaccine.

We should be aware that acute pancreatitis induced by the vaccine may occur a few days or weeks after the vaccine, especially in patients who have risk factors for acute pancreatitis.