Incidence of Graft Rejection in Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty After COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) rejection rate after COVID-19 vaccination with an mRNA vaccine. Methods: This was a multicenter, retrospective cohort study. A total of 198 patients who underwent DMEK between January 2006 and December 2020 were divided into 2 cohorts: consecutive patients who received at least 1 COVID-19 vaccination in 2021 (vaccination started from February 2021 in Japan) and nonvaccinated patients (control cohort). Patients who had a postoperative observation period of less than 90 days were excluded. The main outcome measurement was the incidence of graft rejection. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used for comparisons with the nonvaccinated group. Results: Six rejection episodes were observed in 198 patients (124 nonvaccinated and 74 vaccinated patients), with 1 occurring in the nonvaccinated group and 5 in the vaccinated group. In the univariate model, vaccination had a significant effect on rejection episodes (P = 0.003). The effect of vaccination was also significant (P = 0.004) after adjusting for covariates. Conclusions: This study suggests that there may be a higher rejection rate after COVID-19 vaccination in patients who underwent DMEK. Patients should be warned of the rejection risk and its typical symptoms before receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, although further larger studies are needed to confirm the involvement of vaccination.