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CC BY 4.0 · Ibnosina Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences 2025; 17(01): 041-046
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1806776
Case Series

Unprovoked Venous Thrombosis Following COVID-19 Vaccination: A Retrospective Analysis of the Role of mRNA Vaccines

Abdul Moqeeth Mohammed 
1   Department of Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
2   Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Qatar University and Weill Cornell Medicine, Qatar
,
Ayesha Fatima
3   Department of Family Medicine, Primary Health Care Corporation, Doha, Qatar
,
Mohammed A. Alamin
1   Department of Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
,
Vajeeha Haider
1   Department of Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
,
Nadia Karim Bakhsh
1   Department of Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
,
Mohamed Salem Abdelgelil
4   Department of Pharmacy, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
,
Abdullatif Al-Khal
1   Department of Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
2   Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Qatar University and Weill Cornell Medicine, Qatar
,
Abdel-Naser Elzouki
1   Department of Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
2   Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Qatar University and Weill Cornell Medicine, Qatar
› Author Affiliations Funding and Sponsorship The research was partly funded by the Qatar National Library.
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Abstract

Background

Despite the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in combating the infection through neutralizing antibodies, several side effects have been documented. Vigilant drug safety surveillance has gathered reports on vaccine-induced adverse effects, mainly mild to moderate in severity. Rarely, severe adverse effects such as anaphylaxis, thrombosis, and thrombocytopenia have been observed. Among these, thrombosis emerged as a particularly concerning issue.

Objectives

This has prompted an investigation into the potential existence of a valid link between the vaccine and the occurrence of thrombosis.

Methods

This case series is aimed to assess clinical features of venous thrombosis after injection of two anti-COVID-19 vaccines: the Pfizer-bioNTech vaccine (BNT162b2) and the Moderna (mRNA-1273) vaccine.

Results

We summarized all the salient demographic and clinical features, vaccination details, laboratory investigations, and outcomes. The individual cases are highlighted in more detail. In this case series involving seven patients, we observed rare adverse effects of venous thromboembolism (VTE) following COVID-19 vaccinations of mRNA vaccines, including Pfizer-bioNTech and Moderna.

Conclusion

While our findings addressed the rare adverse effect of VTE postvaccination, it is crucial to recognize the overall benefits of these vaccines in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. The underlying mechanism behind thromboembolism due to mRNA vaccines remains uncertain, distinguishing these cases from those related to adenovirus-based vaccines. More studies will be needed to establish if any relation exists.

Keywords

COVID-19 - management - prognosis - thrombosis - unprovoked thrombosis

Authors' Contributions

A.M.M. and A.F. contributed to data collection and analysis, literature search, and writing the manuscript. M.A.A. contributed to data collection and analysis, and literature search. V.H. contributed to data collection and analysis, literature search, and writing. N.K.B. and M.S.A. contributed to data collection. A.A-K. and A-N.E. were involved in reviewing of the manuscript and mentoring.


Compliance with Ethical Principles

The Medical Research Committee approved the study (MRC approval and consent to participate), with reference number MRC-04–24–301.




Publication History

Article published online:
12 March 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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