Mild Initial Clinical Course Seen for COVID-19 Vaccine-Linked Myocarditis
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Sept. 19, 2024 -- COVID-19 vaccine-associated myocarditis (C-VAM) has a mild initial clinical course, but myocardial injury is common, according to a study published online in the October issue of eClinicalMedicine.
Supriya S. Jain, M.D., from New York Medical College-Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, and colleagues examined the clinical characteristics, myocardial injury, and longitudinal outcomes of C-VAM. A total of 333 patients aged 30 years or younger with C-VAM were compared to 100 patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). The presence of myocardial injury as evidenced by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging was the primary outcome.
Patients with C-VAM were mainly White (67 percent), adolescent (age, 15.7 ±2.8 years) males (91 percent). The researchers found that compared with MIS-C, the initial clinical course of C-VAM was significantly more likely to be mild (80 versus 23 percent) and cardiac dysfunction was less common (17 versus 68 percent). LGE on CMR was significantly more prevalent in C-VAM than MIS-C (82 versus 16 percent). The probability of LGE was significantly higher in male and older patients and when C-VAM occurred after the first or second versus the third mRNA vaccine dose. At a median follow-up of 178 days, midterm clinical outcomes of C-VAM were reassuring. In 60 percent of patients, LGE persisted at follow-up.
"While midterm clinical sequelae are rare and LGE severity decreases over time, the persistence of LGE at follow-up in most patients warrants continued clinical surveillance, additional research, and longer-term studies in this subset of patients," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to relevant organizations.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted September 2024
Further Support and Information on COVID-19
Read this next
Glipizide Linked to Highest MACE-4 Risk in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes
MONDAY, July 28, 2025 -- For individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and moderate cardiovascular risk treated with metformin, the risk for major adverse cardiovascular events is...
Physical Activity Steadily Declines From Young Adulthood to Middle Age
MONDAY, July 28, 2025 -- Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) decreases from young adulthood into middle age, with accelerated declines seen within two years prior to a...
Consensus Offers Best Practices for Post-COVID-19 Residual Abnormalities on Chest CT
FRIDAY, July 25, 2025 -- In an international multisociety consensus statement, published online July 22 in Radiology, recommendations are presented for computed tomography (CT)...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.