Vulvar Aphthous Ulcer Following Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine – A Case Report

• Published in: Journal of pediatric & adolescent gynecology Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 165 - 166
• Main Authors: Drucker, Abigail, Corrao, Kellianne, Gandy, Mallory
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.04.2022; North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Aphthous ulcer; BNT162 Vaccine; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccine; COVID-19 Vaccines - adverse effects; Female; Humans; Pfizer vaccine; Ulcer - etiology; Vulvar Diseases - etiology; Vulvar ulcer; Vulvodynia; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccine; Vulvar ulcer; Pfizer vaccine; Aphthous ulcer
• ISSN: 1083-3188; 1873-4332; 1873-4332
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpag.2021.10.007

In this case report, we describe a potential association between the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and development of a vulvar aphthous ulcer in a virginal 14-year-old girl. A 14-year-old patient reported vulvar pain and visible lesion. Exam findings were consistent with vulvar aphthous ulcers. Two days prior to the onset of her symptoms she received her second Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The evening of vaccine administration, she experienced several hours duration of fatigue, muscle aching and insomnia but had otherwise been recently healthy and testing for common viral associations of vulvar ulcers was negative. Vaccination, in general, has been associated with mucosal side-effects and oral ulceration has been reported in subjects who received Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. It is reasonable to hypothesize that vulvar ulceration may be caused by a similar mechanism and should be considered a rare side effect of this vaccine.