• Adam T Hryniewicki, Vaishal M Tolia, and Rahul V Nene.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California.
• J Emerg Med. 2022 Feb 1; 62 (2): 250253250-253.

BackgroundAcute pericarditis is a diffuse inflammation of the pericardial sac with many well-defined etiologies. Acute pericarditis as a vaccine-related adverse event is a rare entity, and the association between pericarditis and the immunogenic response to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines is still being fully characterized.Case ReportA previously healthy 18-year-old man presented with fever, pleuritic chest pain, and shortness of breath 3 weeks after receiving the first dose of a COVID-19 mRNA-based vaccine. The patient was found to have a large pericardial effusion with early tamponade physiology requiring pericardiocentesis. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: As COVID-19 vaccination becomes more prevalent globally, physicians should be aware of pericarditis as a rare but potentially serious adverse reaction. Although a direct causal link cannot be demonstrated, we present this case to increase awareness among emergency physicians of pericarditis as a rare, but potentially serious adverse event associated with COVID-19 vaccination.Published by Elsevier Inc.

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